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

[whole diary]

[jamestheredengine]

http://iris2.rail.co.uk/tiger/ is usually a good, publicly available, source.  Although sometimes best to wait until it has left its origin station to be sure.

Strange selection of stations. It has The Lakes halt in Warwickshire, but neither Bridgend nor Neath.

[CyclingSid]

Strange selection of stations.

It doesn't have Basingstoke, but it does have Coleraine in Northern Ireland. When I was in Ballykelly the railway line ran across the end of the runway, the control tower could turn the signals to red. Don't know if it was interlocked! Get it wrong and the undercarriage running over the train roof would be a wake up. Believe the set-up was unique in Northern Hemisphere.

[grahame]

Strange selection of stations.

It doesn't have Basingstoke, but it does have Coleraine in Northern Ireland. When I was in Ballykelly the railway line ran across the end of the runway, the control tower could turn the signals to red. Don't know if it was interlocked! Get it wrong and the undercarriage running over the train roof would be a wake up. Believe the set-up was unique in Northern Hemisphere.

It relates to the franchise operators of the stations in most cases.   But some franchises have had some extra stations they serve but do not operate added.    Very interesting TransWilts stuff in the past where we asked about Salisbury and Weymouth ...  and note that Dorchester West is included, but Dorchester South is not!

[stuving]

Strange selection of stations.

It doesn't have Basingstoke, but it does have Coleraine in Northern Ireland. When I was in Ballykelly the railway line ran across the end of the runway, the control tower could turn the signals to red. Don't know if it was interlocked! Get it wrong and the undercarriage running over the train roof would be a wake up. Believe the set-up was unique in Northern Hemisphere.

It relates to the franchise operators of the stations in most cases.   But some franchises have had some extra stations they serve but do not operate added.    Very interesting TransWilts stuff in the past where we asked about Salisbury and Weymouth ...  and note that Dorchester West is included, but Dorchester South is not!

I think, more exactly, it's a question of whether the station's CIS^▸ (Customer Information System) uses it as a data source, thus whether the station operator calls for the Tiger server to supply the relevant formatted pages. GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) appear to have all (?) their stations on there, while SWR^» (South Western Railway - about) have just Salisbury.

Why there would be gaps or just a few on there I can only guess. CISs that can't use the same feed as the bulk of a TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company)'s herd would be a possibility, for example where a station has been transferred between TOCs or has older CIS hard/software. And, more obviously, some CISs are "only" dot matrix so can't use a TV screen format anyway, so if a station only has those it couldn't use Tiger.

[REVUpminster]

Any reason for the high number of 5vice10 in service today? Is it crew issues or Hitachi not able to provide a full fleet for operations today.

Anything to do with events at West Drayton yesterday?

Perhaps a combination?

06:29 Swansea to London Paddington due 09:25
Facilities on the 06:29 Swansea to London Paddington due 09:25.
This is due to a fire near the railway suspected to involve gas cylinders yesterday.
Will be formed of 9 coaches instead of 10.

07:45 London Paddington to Swansea due 10:45
Facilities on the 07:45 London Paddington to Swansea due 10:45.
This is due to a fault on this train.
Will be formed of 5 coaches instead of 9.

But then reasons given are of necessity much simplified.  Trains out of place (e.g. a 9 car in Swansea that should have been in London) and so a ten car slip to 2 x 5 as 10 cars is too long (? please confirm current status someone) for certain destinations.

Paignton station staff say a 10 coach IET^▸ (Intercity Express Train) is too long. I have seen 800's and 802's at Paignton. There was a 158 there today which is becoming more often.

[SandTEngineer]

This popped up on the WNXX^▸ (Stored Unserviceable, Mainline Locos HQ All Classes) Forum where a 'bit' of discussion is going on about the seat reservation system.  I have permission to copy one interesting post written by a driver, over to here:

Seat Reservations - Another 'feature' of the IET^▸ (Intercity Express Train) which needs improvement

You can get 10-car sets in the following formations:

ABCDE - GHJKL
ABCDE - LKJHG
EDCBA - GHJKL
EDCBA - LKJHG

If the TMS won't recognise that ABCDE should be at the west end of the set, then the 4 combinations above double to 8 combinations. Also, the system at the moment won't recognise when the train is booked to attach at a later point in the journey - leaving PZ for example the system won't load the reservations because it can't find the extra 5 coaches that it thinks should be there.

Some other combinations I've had:
ABCDE - ABCDE
12345 - ABCDE
GHJKL - LKJHG

The 9-car sets are much better, they either come as:

ABCFGHJKL

or

LKJHGFABC

A bit like the old fashioned HST^▸ (High Speed Train) used to - either correct or reverse formation. However unlike with the HST where there was a reasonable effort made to keep the sets the 'correct' way around (i.e. 1st class at the east end) there seems to be little to no care taken to make sure the same happens with the IET fleet.

Suffice to say the SRS is an ongoing issue, and there appears to be no quick and easy fix.

[FarWestJohn]

On many trips through Cornwall on 802s in 2 X 5 and 9 car variants recently it is very noticeable how the station dwell times are extended with all the luggage and end doors in a long carriage. It is not the holiday season yet but the trains are loaded with luggage and at nearly all stations the rear two coaches and the rear door in the third from rear coach are not opened due to the short platforms. This involves many passengers having to walk through up to three coaches of the train carrying all their cases in a rush to get off. Perhaps it would be a good idea to get passengers for Cornwall to travel in the front seven coaches. When first class is in the rear very disgruntled passengers stagger through the train. It would also be a good idea to fit another luggage rack in the space of the seats with no window opposite the existing rack.

[REVUpminster]

On many trips through Cornwall on 802s in 2 X 5 and 9 car variants recently it is very noticeable how the station dwell times are extended with all the luggage and end doors in a long carriage. It is not the holiday season yet but the trains are loaded with luggage and at nearly all stations the rear two coaches and the rear door in the third from rear coach are not opened due to the short platforms. This involves many passengers having to walk through up to three coaches of the train carrying all their cases in a rush to get off. Perhaps it would be a good idea to get passengers for Cornwall to travel in the front seven coaches. When first class is in the rear very disgruntled passengers stagger through the train. It would also be a good idea to fit another luggage rack in the space of the seats with no window opposite the existing rack.

I agree with the luggage rack idea as passenger seem on edge when they have left luggage in the store in the vestibule and some check it is still there at each stop. If retained as seats they should be non-reserveable similar to Cross Country who have a few non-reserveable seats.

[Bmblbzzz]

Just to demonstrate that pan up and down is not restricted to IETs^▸ (Intercity Express Train) or even trains:
https://www.dw.com/en/germany-tests-first-ehighway-autobahn/a-48632817

[grahame]

Somehow we got diverted to talking about railways across runways (Filton and BallyKelly) ... so split off at

http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=21559.0

[Richard Fairhurst]

I was impressed to see that the 9-coach IETs^▸ (Intercity Express Train) have a big, open area at the "inner" end of carriage A, intended for wheelchair spaces. The similar area in carriage C of the HSTs^▸ (High Speed Train) became a favourite for families travelling with pushchairs (when the wheelchair spaces weren't in use), so maybe this could serve a similar purpose...

...except it's carriage A. The quiet carriage. Shall we file that one under "missed opportunities"?

(And I do know that the official policy tells you to fold pushchairs before boarding, but for some reason that doesn't work so well when the pushchair contains a sleeping child...)

[old original]

....and, depending which way around it is combined with the direction It's going, It's not platformed at most Cornish stations.

[rogerw]

On 0943 BTH^» (Bath Spa - next trains) to PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains) today in rear set of two. Reservations working, although cards also in place. Trolley has been round 3 times

[TonyK]

I've just had my first two decent length rides. Tiverton Parkway to Paddington on Wednesday was a 9-car set. It was very quiet, unlike the Hull Trains service I boarded almost immediately after, where even the Corbyn seats were taken. In the IET^▸ (Intercity Express Train), the reservations weren't working and no cards were in place. I ignored my own seat in favour of somewhere nice. Others boarding later also had reservations that the train didn't seem to know about, but there weren't enough passengers on board to make it an issue. I was impressed, especially when we went electric, and the seat wasn't too hard for me. The trolley arrived, but I had made adequate independent provision.

Coming home today was in a 2x5, reservations presumably working as the "Available" lights were on in the carriage I settled for, my booked seat being a much longer walk. I chose well, having two opportunities for the trolley before we reached Taunton, the first official stop from Paddington. I had a speedometer app running - we were doing over 40 mph by the end of the platform as we left PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains) according to that. I didn't notice the switch to diesel. We were 7 early at Taunton, but had to wait a short while, and not go out on the optimum path, to let the late-running Manchester to Paignton pass.

So, no complaints.

[CMRail]

It’s disappointing to see that debates are still very much a thing regarding the class 800s with what seems to be similar if not the same issues being argued since 19 months ago when the train launched. As someone who uses them a couple of times a week it was sad to think that I didn’t know I was on my last HST^▸ (High Speed Train) back in February, however, the 800s have simply became somewhat normal to me and they have grown on me.

They have too many issues still and I full acknowledge that, however, I can see most of them being sorted within the next couple of years - GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) and NR^» (Network Rail - home page) are still to release the new timetable, finish electrification works as well as training new and current staff.

In terms of catering, who would have thought of a genius idea such as a Buffet and a Trolly (cough Virgin Trains and LNER^» (London North Eastern Railway - about)) which will he continued on the Azumas^▸ (Brand name for Class 80x trains on LNER), yes it costs money to run this, however, is it impossible to have never been considered? GWR now offer certain weekend options on selected services for First Class customers, and the two times I travelled on the 11:15 to Paddington from Gloucester I had a First Class customer host offering the menu (dates haven’t been updated however I believe that the menu is still in operation) https://www.gwr.com/plan-journey/tickets-railcards-and-season-tickets/weekend-upgrades

From my own view, being a regular user of the train, or does the job just fine when it works, however, it’s getting it to work which is the issue.