Class 142 Pacers in service on Devon branch lines, 2007 to 2011 - merged topic

[whole diary]

[Umberleigh]

Back on the subject of 142's

Can you really class the one hour Exeter to Barnstaple trip as a 'shorter journey'?

Long time to be stuck in a bus-type seat being shaken to bits

Recently had the joy of travelling up the line in an ex-Trans Pennine ex-First Class seat and the journey seemed to fly by; my fellow passengers could be overheard remarking on the comfort of the train.

If only....

Instead we can look forward to squeezing into cramped urban-style 3+2 seating as we bounce noisily up the line

Mind you, at least there will be plenty of space as those passengers who have the choice to travel either by car or train will flee the Tarka^▸ (Line from Barnstaple to Exeter) Line in droves as the 'not bad' train units at present get sent to the more deserving folks up North.

If the Tarka Line was losing passengers year-on-year then I could almost understand this decision; it is not, numbers have been steadily increasing. What a reward for the travelling public who are supporting this line

This removal of half-decent rolling stock in favour of units that were quite rightly kicked out of the region 20 years ago is a tragedy for the Barnstaple line and the longer it goes on the more I fear passengers will turn to their cars, or even a coach-type seat on the bus.

The final insult, of course, is the over-paid failiures that are FGW^▸ (First Great Western) Management crowing on about 'refreshing' the local train fleet: as ever, 'local' for them equals their beloved London/Bristol/Cardiff route and sod everyone else....

[Conner]

The thing about 158's is that there everyones favourite. So the good TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company)'s make an efort to get them i.e. Northern. The DFT^▸ (Department for Transport) then say Angel Trains must give Northern 30 158's. FGW^▸ (First Great Western) don't do anything about trying to keep them so there going to be taking away. What we get in return is 142's which will be replaced by 158's at Northern. Straight swap. Different unit.

[Timmer]

The thing about 158's is that there everyones favourite. So the good TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company)'s make an efort to get them i.e. Northern. The DFT^▸ (Department for Transport) then say Angel Trains must give Northern 30 158's. FGW^▸ (First Great Western) don't do anything about trying to keep them so there going to be taking away. What we get in return is 142's which will be replaced by 158's at Northern. Straight swap. Different unit.

I find it staggering more noise is not being made about this swap. I dont think in the main the travelling public know what is happening yet...they will come December!

[Conner]

The thing about 158's is that there everyones favourite. So the good TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company)'s make an efort to get them i.e. Northern. The DFT^▸ (Department for Transport) then say Angel Trains must give Northern 30 158's. FGW^▸ (First Great Western) don't do anything about trying to keep them so there going to be taking away. What we get in return is 142's which will be replaced by 158's at Northern. Straight swap. Different unit.

I find it staggering more noise is not being made about this swap. I dont think in the main the travelling public know what is happening yet...they will come December!

To right they'll know. Turn up to travel on the day of change expecting to have a nice comfortable journey. Then they'll bodies will be ripped apart as they won't be used to traveling on pacers.

[devon_metro]

You state that Exeter - Barnstaple is 1 hour.

Imagine similar journey:
Paignton - Exeter 50 mins
Paignton - Exmouth 85 mins
Barnstaple - Exmouth 90 mins
Paignton - Barnstaple (there is one train on Sunday IIRC^▸ (if I recall/remember/read correctly)) 105 mins.

[vacman]

The thing about 158's is that there everyones favourite. So the good TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company)'s make an efort to get them i.e. Northern. The DFT^▸ (Department for Transport) then say Angel Trains must give Northern 30 158's. FGW^▸ (First Great Western) don't do anything about trying to keep them so there going to be taking away. What we get in return is 142's which will be replaced by 158's at Northern. Straight swap. Different unit.

This F**K up is entirely down to FGW, when they bid for the franchise they seemed to think they needed X amount of units, so they were due to go off lease this December, in the meantime they realised that people do actually travel on local services and now want to keep the units but it's too late because the ROSCO^» (Rolling Stock Owning Company - about) has promised them elswere! If FGW had said in the first place that they needed these units then they'd be staying with us!

[devon_metro]

Well at least it should mean no fare increases.

If there are any I can predict a full scale riot!

[oooooo]

A class 142 visited Paignton today on test. One yesterday morning in the very early hours was supposed to visit Exmouth but am unsure if it ran...

[devon_metro]

Lets hope it fails the test then! I'm sure Network Rail have done their best to make the line as bouncy as possible!

[Jim]

Lets hope it fails the test then! I'm sure Network Rail have done their best to make the line as bouncy as possible!

Sounds like you would rather have no train!

[gaf71]

A class 142 visited Paignton today on test. One yesterday morning in the very early hours was supposed to visit Exmouth but am unsure if it ran...

The one 142 that is in running order has been to Barnstaple, Exmouth and Paignton on 'test' runs, mainly for driver handling purposes. The crews are actually surprised at how smooth the ride has been, apart for the stretch between Portsmouth Arms and Umberleigh......but a 158 bounces around there as well!

[vacman]

Well, they cant be all bad, they lasted up north for over twenty years! better than no train at all i spose!

[devon_metro]

I think FGW^▸ (First Great Western) needs to emply the heritage side of things on a failing railway.

Melksham perhaps

[Conner]

After travelling on a couple of Devon Branchline trains today, I think they should use the 142's straight away as the overcrowding is quite severe.

[TJ]

Logic please. 142s have fewer seats than a 150 and two 142s have only a eleven more seats than a 150+153 combination. Seatingwise two 142s are better than a single 150 but I understand that only one train is to have this enhancement on the Exmouth Branch. Ye big deal. Let's face it Exeter is only going to have 6 142s and I doubt if they dare rely on more than 4 being serviceable at any one time. The other 6 will be based in Bristol for use on the Severn Beach line I believe but confirmation would be appreciated.

Yes we need more capacity on the Exmouth Branch peak services but, even ignoring all reliability issues, 142s are just not the answer. Even FGW^▸ (First Great Western) don't want them but, mainly due to their own incompetance, they have been DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) stuffed.

TJ