IET Train First Class Carriages

[whole diary]

[TaplowGreen]

Slightly off topic.. but what are the chances of being a weekend at seat service on a Saturday between Glos and Swindon and then Swindon and Bath between 11 and 1?

Unlike me, extremely slim.

[1st fan]

Currently on the IET^▸ (Intercity Express Train) from Moreton in Marsh to London. The seats are still incredibly hard as expected and all the bumps can be felt. However there is only one toilet working on the entire train. It is the one in 1st and there is a never ending queue for the toilet. There is also a lack of toilet paper and people are having to use a large roll of blue catering paper towels. The train is only 5 carriages which is a short formation and it should be 10. I notice that the journey check is not showing this fact. It's fairly packed as a result even in 1st where people are standing in the carriage and the vestibule.

Seat reservations are not working due to their only being 5 carriages The blind is not blocking the sun as it's now too low in the sky and I've reclined so is flooding in through the large gap at the bottom. This is bloody ridiculous and even my attempts with hanging my suit up to block it aren't really working. Oh and as I've discovered you can't (or at least I and several others can't) get out of the reclined seat easily because of the table leg position. Plus someone in four seat nearly had his laptop pulled off the table a couple of times. He's got up to let someone out twice now and they've got caught in the power cable which is plugged in between the seats. I always thought that was a daft place to put the socket.

I went into travelling on these trains with an open mind and but I'm going off them the more I travel on them.

[TaplowGreen]

Not sure if it's a short form but I was at Reading earlier and noticed that the 1505 to Penzance (goes via Bristol I think?) was being advertised as "full and standing" from Paddington - could be a very long, uncomfortable journey for a lot of people.

[1st fan]

Oh and I got off at Reading because my backside had gone to sleep and I needed to stretch my legs. Just before I did so a staff member (who I think was positioning) mentioned to the Train Manager that they'd been on this set a few times during the week and the toilets were out of action then too. My electronics still refuse to work whilst plugged in to the power/USB sockets on an IET^▸ (Intercity Express Train). This is with or without the case being used. The touch screen doesn't work if being charged or if it does it produces gobbledegook on screen when typing.

[IndustryInsider]

Not sure if it's a short form but I was at Reading earlier and noticed that the 1505 to Penzance (goes via Bristol I think?) was being advertised as "full and standing" from Paddington - could be a very long, uncomfortable journey for a lot of people.

That was a HST^▸ (High Speed Train) today instead of the booked 10-car IET^▸ (Intercity Express Train).  Not enough capacity on the old trains obviously.

[Timmer]

Not sure if it's a short form but I was at Reading earlier and noticed that the 1505 to Penzance (goes via Bristol I think?) was being advertised as "full and standing" from Paddington - could be a very long, uncomfortable journey for a lot of people.

Two trains into one because of engineering work. The 14.27 Pad-Bri and the 14.57 Pad-Pnz diverted via Bristol as the 14.30.

[ChrisB]

My electronics still refuse to work whilst plugged in to the power/USB sockets on an IET^▸ (Intercity Express Train). This is with or without the case being used. The touch screen doesn't work if being charged or if it does it produces gobbledegook on screen when typing.

I too have this problem when charging and using an iphone 7. The touchscreen doesn't respond as you expect, instead it randomly reacts with actions not requested/touched! unplug it & it returns to normal. Plug it back in & away it goes again.

I have mentioned this to GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) who said they'd go away & try & replicate the problem....

[CMRail]

Edited -

Is it just iPhones where this issue occurs?

[ChrisB]

not so, sorry - often on leaving Paddington all the way through Reading and on.

[1st fan]

Edited -

Is it just iPhones where this issue occurs?

Both of my android devices did it and both chargers but I couldn't check my iPhone because I didn't have the cable with me.

[FremlinsMan]

My electronics still refuse to work whilst plugged in to the power/USB sockets on an IET^▸ (Intercity Express Train). This is with or without the case being used. The touch screen doesn't work if being charged or if it does it produces gobbledegook on screen when typing.

I too have this problem when charging and using an iphone 7. The touchscreen doesn't respond as you expect, instead it randomly reacts with actions not requested/touched! unplug it & it returns to normal. Plug it back in & away it goes again.

I have mentioned this to GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) who said they'd go away & try & replicate the problem....

This sounds like the behaviour I've seen when the voltage from the USB supply isn't regulated properly, or has lots of noise (fluctuating AC voltage in addition to the DC^▸ (Direct Current)). This causes the voltage to the touchscreen circuity to fluctuate causing random events. I don't know how you could get around this (of course, it'd be nice if GWR could investigate whether the USB sockets have a good clean DC voltage available...)

[1st fan]

My electronics still refuse to work whilst plugged in to the power/USB sockets on an IET^▸ (Intercity Express Train). This is with or without the case being used. The touch screen doesn't work if being charged or if it does it produces gobbledegook on screen when typing.

I too have this problem when charging and using an iphone 7. The touchscreen doesn't respond as you expect, instead it randomly reacts with actions not requested/touched! unplug it & it returns to normal. Plug it back in & away it goes again.

I have mentioned this to GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) who said they'd go away & try & replicate the problem....

This sounds like the behaviour I've seen when the voltage from the USB supply isn't regulated properly, or has lots of noise (fluctuating AC voltage in addition to the DC^▸ (Direct Current)). This causes the voltage to the touchscreen circuity to fluctuate causing random events. I don't know how you could get around this (of course, it'd be nice if GWR could investigate whether the USB sockets have a good clean DC voltage available...)

It's annoying to say the least and doesn't happen on the HST^▸ (High Speed Train).

[broadgage]

I find this very odd and do wonder if something in the IET^▸ (Intercity Express Train) environment OTHER THAN supply voltage is upsetting some devices.
USB power outlets incorporate a regulated power supply, and they work just fine overseas in places with very poorly controlled grid voltage.
Most types of USB outlet also accept a wide range of input voltage, often a range from 200 volts up to 270 volts, I doubt the "mains" voltage on an IET varies that much.
I presume that USB outlets in the IETs are standard "off the shelf" units purchased by Hitachi, and not some weird special railway version.

Could it be some non supply voltage cause ? such as electrical interference from other on board systems, or unusually high or low humidity.
Many touch screen devices perform slightly differently when plugged in or not, because plugging them in tends to slightly "earth" them via the 5 volt supply cable.

[stuving]

The IEP^▸ (Intercity Express Program / Project.) specification didn't call up any standards, in fact it didn't say whether the train should provide mains or USB outlets. I assume we are only talking about mains and you own charger here; some posts certainly are, but are USB sockets even provided? 

USB itself was designed for data and control, and repurposed for recharging phones etc., both as an interface on the phone and a charger itself and its outlet. That has now been standardised, though using the principle that if one standard is good then a lot of them must be better. But I'm sure in reality they are pretty similar - EN IEC 62684:2018 seems to be current. But (without its full text) I  think it only covers volts and amps, not interference which is probably regarded as unimportant for charging. Working while plugged in is another issue altogether.

I suspect, like broadgage, it's about earthing. If the mains supply (live and neutral together) has a significant voltage at the train's inverter frequencies, which I understand are around 1 kHz, or their harmonics, that could well interfere with a touch screen. I don't know which principles they use these days; some types do use such voltages in the touch sensing itself, but even those that don't may have them just inside and not provide much screening.

In addressing the issue, the first problem is that you are GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway)'s customer, but GWR and DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) together are Hitachi's customer, so you have no direct contract with the design authority. Then, do they offer the service you are using, or only a charging facility? If there is no standard, or it's not a formal requirement, then what does someone (we don't know who) test the sockets against?

There ought to be solutions that can filter out the suggested kind of common-mode interference, but they all require filters that are properly earthed. A charger could use the mains earth for this, but I don't think they ever do. You can get filters to put in the USB lead, but they aren't yet (AFAICS^▸ (As Far As I Can See)) standard consumer items, and in any case are unlikely to address common mode interference or such low frequencies. But has anyone else come across workable solutions, using filters or otherwise?

[IndustryInsider]

USB’s are provided in first class along with plugs.