Problems with IET trains from April 2021

[whole diary]

[Electric train]

Not sure it has to be accepted. Surely it's incumbent on train & platform staff to at least make an effort to prevent this type of scenario in the current environment especially at a station like Reading?

Couldn't announcements be made that the train approaching platform X will be setting down only due to overcrowding? Sure some won't listen but many will.

Yes, every effort should be made to inform and encourage passengers of alternatives, but it must be expected and accepted that social distancing still won’t always be possible.

And the 'social distancing' will be changed after 19 July to where possible with the onus on us as individuals to manage ourselves; I expect the mandatory wearing of face coverings  well be changed to it being an encouraged personal choice 

[IndustryInsider]

Six more Class 387s are being leased for GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) services to support the IET^▸ (Intercity Express Train) shortfall, along with the three c2c units already being leased.

[broadgage]

That should help a bit.
From where are these extra 387s being obtained ?

[IndustryInsider]

They are GTR units usually used on Gatwick Express services.

[broadgage]

Thanks for the info.

[broadgage]

Over 20 short formed IETs^▸ (Intercity Express Train) today, much worse than most recent days. I doubt that IET availability has actually altered that much in only a day or two.

Much more likely IMHO^▸ (in my humble opinion), is that the lack of serviceable IETs has been largely "hidden" by lack of train crew. Few if any cancellations today for want of train crew has shown up the lack of trains.

Presumable mostly cracked trains, though perhaps some heat related failures as well.

IET advocates will no doubt argue, firstly that train length does not much matter now that social distancing is no longer required, and secondly that some trains shown as half length may actually run as full length.

[Timmer]

IET^▸ (Intercity Express Train) advocates will no doubt argue, firstly that train length does not much matter now that social distancing is no longer required, and secondly that some trains shown as half length may actually run as full length.

On your second point let’s hope so. Always concerns me when I see London-Penzance trains 5 vice 9/10; especially at this time of year.

[grahame]

IET^▸ (Intercity Express Train) advocates will no doubt argue, firstly that train length does not much matter now that social distancing is no longer required ...

I'll take the bait ...

05:59 Westbury to London Paddington due 07:36
Facilities on the 05:59 Westbury to London Paddington due 07:36.
Will be formed of 5 coaches instead of 10.

With classic commuter numbers so low ... I REALLY doubt this service will be crowded and even with social distancing, I don't think it will be exactly full.  But having said that, there many be a very different story when the same train leaves Paddington again and heads west.

[IndustryInsider]

On your second point let’s hope so. Always concerns me when I see London-Penzance trains 5 vice 9/10; especially at this time of year.

One of the two Penzance diagrams listed has 800302 allocated to it, a 9-car.  The other is currently a 5-car, 802018 - that’s on the 10:06 PNZ-PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains).

[jamestheredengine]

Maybe we should do what Midland Mainline did with their useless half-length Meridians: they shuffled intermediate cars between sets to end up with a decent number of 7-car units. If my maths is right, we could reform the IETs^▸ (Intercity Express Train) either as:

• 69x 8-car trains
• 1x 5-car train
• 23x redundant pairs of cab cars

Or as:

• 83x 7-car trains
• 1x 6-car train
• 9x redundant pairs of cab cars

[broadgage]

I cant support re-forming IETs^▸ (Intercity Express Train) into 6 car, 7, or 8 car units because so doing would "lock in" reduced capacity as such units would not be able to work in pairs.

[IndustryInsider]

On your second point let’s hope so. Always concerns me when I see London-Penzance trains 5 vice 9/10; especially at this time of year.

One of the two Penzance diagrams listed has 800302 allocated to it, a 9-car.  The other is currently a 5-car, 802018 - that’s on the 10:06 PNZ-PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains).

Just to add that the next working of that diagram, 16:04 PAD-PNZ, looks like it’s now a 10-car (802016/20).  The 18:36 and 20:04 PAD-PLY^» (Plymouth - next trains) also appear to be 9-car rather than shortformed. Journeycheck not updated.

I make these posts for the sake of accuracy and to demonstrate that what you see often isn’t what you get.  Not through some desperate attempt to defend IETs^▸ (Intercity Express Train), which I think I have several shortcomings as I’ve said before.

[stuving]

Has the monitoring campaign by that instrumented unit completed? I can't see any runs at the moment. And did anyone see it on its peregrinations? Or take its picture?

Someone (malc-c) has captured the similar Azuma^▸ (Brand name for Class 80x trains on LNER) unit, and posted the picture on railfoirums.


I can't help thinking I could have done a neater job than that! Though I suspect that withstanding the windage at 125 mi/hr is probably more important than aesthetics. And I think that provides at least half an explantion of why it didn't run in passenger service. What that picture doesn't tell you is how many bogies were instrumented; the text says this wring was "all down the length of the train", so presumably all of them (as is only logical).

[broadgage]

One of the worst "updates" today was the 17-04 from London to Penzance. Started from Reading and terminated at Westbury.

A cancellation in all but name, due a train fault.

[TaplowGreen]

Consecutive cancellations this morning. One train failure, the second due to crew shortage- return trips also cancelled - more unhappy customers, more traffic on the roads for want of a reliable alternative;

09:05 Penzance to London Paddington due 14:27
10:06 Penzance to London Paddington due 15:29