IETs into passenger service from 16 Oct 2017 and subsequent performance issues

[whole diary]

[Adelante_CCT]

From the ground...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICvraOwbg7M


And from the air....
https://mobile.twitter.com/GWRHelp/status/919820542542217216/video/1

I did wonder about the helicopter I could hear

[TaplowGreen]

Up working 1C03 seems to have had a rather disastrous debut. Arrived at Padd 41 mins late. Failed to switch over from diesel to AC at Maidenhead, so diesel all the way to Padd. Return working 1B12 8:15 to Cardiff has been cancelled.

Hope there wasn't a welcoming committee planned for the first scheduled IET^▸ (Intercity Express Train) into Wales.

It's somehow quite fitting & a suitable metaphor for GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway).......wonder how the Famous 5 are coping? 

[JayMac]

800009 leading 1A11 0930 Bristol TM^‡(resolve) - London Paddington. 800008 at the rear. I'm on board with Finn, bobm and PhilWakely.

[Timmer]

wonder how the Famous 5 are coping? 

Who? Mark Carne, Mark Hopwood, Tim O'Toole and Chris Grayling? I don't think BNM would let them borrow his little dog Finn.

[BerkshireBugsy]

The scene when I arrived at Paddington about 830 this morning

[Louis94]

Geeetings from a HST^▸ (High Speed Train) based service which I boarded at Reading for Paddington . Sadly it don't know the origin of the service I was too busy trying to board and get a seat

We have been switched onto the "slow" up line - does anyone know if this is connected with the introduction of the IETs^▸ (Intercity Express Train) today ?

Update: we were routed back on to the Up Main (?) line just west on Slough station

1A03 stopped with a fault at the changeover point from Diesel to Electric, trains behind were diverted onto the Up Relief line Twyford to Slough. I presume the IET had carried on its journey (on diesel) by the time you got to where it had stopped (around Taplow).

[broadgage]

He very probably is. And so very very adorably photogenic. He could almost be looking into a gramophone horn just waiting for HMV !

Almost certainly the first pet dog to travel with a fare paying passenger.
Earlier non public testing might have included blind people and their guide dogs ?

[Adelante_CCT]

800009 leading 1A11 0930 Bristol TM^‡(resolve) - London Paddington. 800008 at the rear. I'm on board with Finn, bobm and PhilWakely.

Me too! 

First impressions, very nice, good smooth acceleration, lets hope they get the pan up this time!
If not Richard Branson might be getting his balloon out again, replacing BA^» (British Airways - about) with GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway)!

[1st fan]

Being live tweeted by https://twitter.com/clinnick1

He says the seats are firm 

but interiors are to be changed 

[JayMac]

After Maidenhead, passing Slough. We're on the leccy.



Noticeably different underfloor sound when accelerating on leccy. A typically electric motor "whine".

[bobm]

I travelled from London down to Bristol and then back to Chippenham.  (See some earlier photos up the thread)  Obviously, judging by reports, I chose the better of the two trains to be on.

Certainly on board they make for a comfortable journey.  The seats are firm, which some might find uncomfortable, but they were ok for me.

Each pair of seats has two power points under the arm-rests which is better than between the seats in front of you as on an HST^▸ (High Speed Train).  Not only easier to reach but won't be used as a footrest and thus broken.

Most seats have a proper window view.  There are a few at the end of a carriage which have no view at all and some others with only a partial one.  The only thing I don't really like are the window shades.  They are similar to the ones on the Voyagers where they cover more than one set of seats, so you'll have to bargain with the person sitting behind you if you want the blind down or up.

I didn't count the number of tables in a standard class coach but it is certainly more than an HST.

First class has bigger tables and more room



I did see several people knock their heads on the overhead rack when getting up from their seats.  Also at the end of each train the gangway to the front and rear carriage has a lower headroom.  The floor does slope slightly to compensate - but it is another thing to look out for.



Some work is needed on the external signage



The photo actually highlights the text above each element of the display - but on the platform you can hardly see it and 09:30 Bath Spa isn't very intuitive when you are at Bristol Temple Meads wanting the 09:30 to Paddington.  Hopefully they can make the Time and Next Stop text stand out a bit more.

There is also no exterior signage showing where cyclists should board with their non folding bicycles.  There was one report of a person trying to join the driver in the cab with one!

Also the first door after the driver's door is for the kitchen and so not for passenger use - but it isn't marked as such.



On both trips we did lose time at stations while people got used to the doors (and which ones they could use).

Heading down to Bristol we had an extra delay at Chippenham when it was realised the rear three coaches wouldn't be platformed at Bath and a couple of bicycles had to be moved down the platform ready to alight at the next stop.  Once at Bath there was another delay while those in the rear three (the majority of standard class in the rear five car train) had to walk through to get off.  As people become more familiar with the trains hopefully they won't sit at the back of the train if they want Bath.

In standard class the trolley duly came through and people made use of it



Seems the trolleys belong to Hitachi rather than GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) too



The ride was smooth.  I didn't detect when we switched from the overhead to diesel at Maidenhead and we arrived early into Reading on the down trip.

Needless to say a lot of Hitachi and GWR managers on board the train.

Also one local BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) Radio reporter doing vox pops of passengers.   Her first question to the person sitting opposite me - "Is this the first time you have travelled on one of these trains?"   

[didcotdean]

On board the 07:00 out of Paddington.

With Hitachi’s involvement perhaps not surprising there seemed to be more Japanese TV crews on the platform that anyone else.

NHK report: http://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20171016/k10011179471000.html?utm_int=news_contents_news-main_005

Automated translation of the report from Japanese:

On 16 October in the UK^▸ (United Kingdom), the high-speed rail vehicle manufactured by Hitachi, a major electronics manufacturer utilizing the Shinkansen technology, began operating operations, and the track record in the birthplace of the railway would lead to the expansion of orders for Japan manufacturers.

In the United Kingdom, a project of 800 billion yen is underway to update a vehicle that is decrepit by a railway connecting major cities, and Hitachi has ordered the production of 866 vehicles.

On the 16th, three hundred kilometers between the capital London and Wales, the operation started with this vehicle, and a brand new green train left the London station with many guests.

The maximum speed is 200 kmh, and the technology of the Shinkansen has been introduced to the device which suppresses the noise, and the passenger said, "It is very quiet and easy to ride" or "The inside of the car is clean and comfortable".

This vehicle is manufactured in Yamaguchi Prefecture and finished in the UK, and the majority of trains delivered in the future will be produced locally.

The product that the Kobe steel plant was tampering with the data in the body is used, but the managing director of Hitachi's Masai Kentaro is "properly verified and has no problem with safety." I'm afraid the problem is that it's a manufacturer's responsibility to deliver safe products. "

The birthplace of the railway, in the UK, the largest rail project in Europe, which connects the major cities in London and central Japan by 360 kilometers per hour, is planned, but the competition of manufacturers is increasing in intensity, and the results of this time will be focused on the expansion of orders made by Japan manufacturers.

The world rail market is expected to scale to 20 trillion yen, and the competition for the order acquisition has increased as the demand to update the vehicle which is decrepit in the advanced country as well as the development plan of the high-speed railway is increased.

[1st fan]

I travelled from London down to Bristol and then back to Chippenham.  (See some earlier photos up the thread)  Obviously, judging by reports, I chose the better of the two trains to be on.

Certainly on board they make for a comfortable journey.  The seats are firm, which some might find uncomfortable, but they were ok for me.

Ah well hopefully after a few thousand people have sat on them they'll soften.

Also the first door after the driver's door is for the kitchen and so not for passenger use - but it isn't marked as such.

I believe that the crew door was covered in the same colour as the rest of the train to dissuade passengers from trying to use it. They were supposed to just use the grey ones instead but interesting to hear that's not always worked.

In standard class the trolley duly came through and people made use of it



Seems the trolleys belong to Hitachi rather than GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) too

That's a shame about the trolley as it appears to be a Sovereign S-Lite In-Cup Trolley http://www.sovonline.co.uk/rail-catering-trolleys. That means no coffee machine and that's a seriously retrograde step for the coffee drinkers.  Ben Rule posted on this site saying:

What we are certainly not talking about is a trolley service like the one we have today. But more on that in a bit.

Well that trolley doesn't seem to be much different from the existing trolleys in use already today. They could have gone for something like a modified version of this https://www.ceka.ch/files/medien/bilder/Branchen/ceka-minibar-03.jpg and kept the coffee from fresh beans and not instant. I guess my expectations were raised too high.

Also one local BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) Radio reporter doing vox pops of passengers.   Her first question to the person sitting opposite me - "Is this the first time you have travelled on one of these trains?"   

   

[t0m]

Oops

http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/intercity-express-train-break-down-first-service-bristol-london-paddington-transport-secretary-rush-a8002471.html

My train into Paddington was over 30 mins late after being moved to the relief line to make way for VIPs......

[BerkshireBugsy]

Oops

http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/intercity-express-train-break-down-first-service-bristol-london-paddington-transport-secretary-rush-a8002471.html

My train into Paddington was over 30 mins late after being moved to the relief line to make way for VIPs......

As I mentioned earlier I was on an HST^▸ (High Speed Train)  service that was switched to relief line after leaving Reading and then switched back prior to Slough. I was surprised how fast we were travelling on the relief line. I know it's slightly off topic but what is the maximum speed allowed on that section of relief track?