Trimode cl 769 to operate Reading to Oxford and Gatwick.

[whole diary]

[broadgage]

Some good video (not mine) of the recent class 769 test runs on the North Downs and Brighton Main lines:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IGdTczUq6o

I, interesting, thanks. BTW^▸ (by the way) at about 6 minutes into the video it looks like a nasty dip in the track, on the line used by the 769 approaching the camera.

[stuving]

I was just going out shopping when I noticed that this morning's run to Gatwick and back had turned back at Guildford. And 769946 duly came back through Wokingham 10:56 instead of 12:08, and with its rear engine shut down. Engine failure (and return from Guildford) also happened on the first run on Monday, and perhaps the second turned back even earlier (but RTT^» (Real Time Trains - website) gets so confused by this kind of thing it's hard to be sure). Wednesday's two runs were cancelled. So far so ...?

[eightonedee]

By way of reminder, here is the first post in this thread-

   
Trimode cl 769 to operate Reading to Oxford and Gatwick.
« on: April 19, 2018, 06:04:17 pm »
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Just seen on Twitter,
Philip Haigh states
GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) to bring 19 tri-mode Class 769 4-car trains to Reading-Oxford and Reading-Gatwick services from next spring. Will run on AC and DC^▸ (Direct Current)▸ electrification and diesel. Will initially support introduction of refurbed trains to Heathrow Express.

and the first insider comment-

   
Re: Trimode cl 769 to operate Reading to Oxford and Gatwick.
« Reply #3 on: April 19, 2018, 07:09:42 pm »
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It is, obviously, good news to get more capacity.  Just the extra strain on crew training, and the reliability and power of the units themselves that cast a bit of a shadow in my opinion.

So II - who's going to win on Sunday?

[IndustryInsider]

So II - who's going to win on Sunday?

Broadgage is the one with the crystal ball!

[stuving]

This afternoon's run did happen, rather to my surprise. This one (reportedly 959) got to Redhill, but by then it was 20 minutes late so it met its own schedule coming back. On the way back to Reading it only lost 10 minutes, but with the advantage of not doing station calls. No informed reports on what its problem was, but being a bit short in the engine system department looks a likely bet.

[onthecushions]

From what is published elsewhere, the Northern and TfW 769's are now in service and behaving reasonably. Ours are still in the testing stage, it seems.

OTC

[ellendune]

From what is published elsewhere, the Northern and TfW 769's are now in service and behaving reasonably. Ours are still in the testing stage, it seems.

OTC

Difference is the third rail I suppose.

[IndustryInsider]

Plus of course ours are still being delivered and testing hasn’t been going on for long.

Perhaps this thread’s title should be amended?  There are no plans to use them on services to Oxford.

[eightonedee]

There are no plans to use them on services to Oxford.

But they were originally announced as being for the Reading-Oxford services as well - have a look at the first posts in this thread. If I have understood the position from following this over the last three years this has changed and Reading - Basingstoke is now the other route they will cover.

Which inspires an idea, partly stimulated by Marlburian's recent post -

Time was when I would take the train to a nearby town or village and walk, before returning home by rail. But the current hourly service to and from Tilehurst doesn't encourage this, compared with the previous half-hourly one.

As for travelling east through Reading, it seems eons ago since in January 2020 I was lamenting having to hang around on the station for a connecting service at certain times of the day.

I didn't bother to renew my Senior Railcard that expired two weeks ago.

We currently have two "gaps" without OHL^▸ (Over-Head Line) on services around Reading - Didcot to Oxford, and Reading to Basingstoke. The former is now a fractured service with changes/delays at Didcot. For some reason the stopping Reading to Didcots have still not been restored to half-hourly. As Marlburian says, this is quite a disincentive to using the train to get into Reading or take a connecting train onwards, with the prospect of possibly nearly an hour's wait (or two if there's a cancellation). Furthermore, there is the somewhat frustrating sight of lightly loaded 8 coach trains running hourly when 5 years ago it was a much more convenient half hourly off peak service run comfortably with 2 or 3 car trains. 

I appreciate that compared to the travails of Melksham passengers (once again highlighted by today's posts) this seems like a "first world problem", but every reduction in service frequency is another group of people who will think "why bother with the train, I might as well drive".

So - if there's some reason why the pre-covid half hourly off peak stopping services continuing on to London cannot be restored, why not combine the Reading - Oxford stopping services and the Reading-Basingstoke one into an hourly Oxford-Basingstoke, reversing at Reading, one that can use 769s switching power at Reading and Didcot, thereby restoring a half-hourly stopping service from Reading to Didcot, and also possibly releasing a few more Turbos for the west? 

[IndustryInsider]

Oxford was dropped from the plans very early on.

There wouldn’t be enough units to cover the North Downs planned diagrams if they were used on an Oxford to Basingstoke service, though that indeed might well be a more sensible utilisation of them…though there are a few arguments against as well.

[Rhydgaled]

From what is published elsewhere, the Northern and TfW 769's are now in service and behaving reasonably. Ours are still in the testing stage, it seems.

OTC

I'm not sure abouth the "behaving reasonably" part - Roger Ford's 'New Train TIN Watch' shows the TfW 769s to be performing relatively poorly in reliability terms (think only the Crossrail 345s were worse) and the relevant topic on the RailUK Forums has many reports of fewer 769s being out in service each day than intended (although I'm not sure if some of that is due to COVID-related delays in staff training or if they have trainned enough staff).

[onthecushions]

The improvement has been very recent and fewer (bad) reports are being entered.

OTC

[bradshaw]

One has ventured to Southampton

769930 on the 5Q19 0647 Reading Depot to Southampton and return

https://twitter.com/skuttersrule/status/1417746816091701251?s=21

[eightonedee]

One has ventured to Southampton

769930 on the 5Q19 0647 Reading Depot to Southampton and return

It is escaping! Perhaps it wants to run away and live with a 230 on the Isle of Wight!

[eightonedee]

Prompted by the mention of them in the recent/current Weymouth thread, any more news on when they will be ready for service (recalling Spring 2019 as the original target date....)?

And how many have been delivered?

And any information as to what the principal problems causing all this delay might be?