Class 180 Adelantes - discussions, including their return to FGW

[whole diary]

[ChrisB]

Mark Hopwood has been heard to say that Henley is one of the destinations that they wish to serve, should they get the 180s. So not a rumour.

Do Oxford drivers do the Oxford HSTs^▸ (High Speed Train), or sre they purely turbo drivers, a la Reading depot?

[IndustryInsider]

Do Oxford drivers do the Oxford HSTs^▸ (High Speed Train), or sre they purely turbo drivers, a la Reading depot?

All LTV^▸ (London [and] Thames Valley) depots, Oxford, Reading and Paddington have drivers that sign HST's.  The work was taken away from Reading depot quite recently, though I believe a couple of drivers have decided to retain their knowledge so they are able to cover the work on 'rest days'.

Roughly half of the Paddington LTV depot's drivers, and 2/3rds of the Oxford depot are supposed to sign HST's but a dispute over training (now in its fourth year) means nowhere near that number actually do sign them.  Curently about half of Oxford depot does, at Paddington it's in single figures.  The good news is that the dispute has finally been resolved and drivers that should sign the traction will be undertaking courses starting next month.

That's part of the reason getting the 180's in service for December is going to be difficult as all drivers will need a refresher course on them, and with HST training taking place at the same time that would be a real stretch on resources.

[Btline]

That's good news as long as they are not used off peak on such routes (where they're more needed on the Cotswold). But fair enough once the OXF^» (Oxford - next trains) fasts are all booked HSTs^▸ (High Speed Train) (i.e. evening peak). Hopefully the Henley service would be Turobed and not a Cotswold if an HST were to fail!

[autotank]

I think this will be the first time something other than a 165 or 166 has been used in passenger service on the Henley line since the early 90's! Does anyone know if an HST^▸ (High Speed Train) has ever been down the branch?

[eightf48544]

Not sure about an HST^▸ (High Speed Train) but don't forget Henley used to regularly get Castles on the through trains.

[Maxwell P]

Is there a slot on these boards for unfounded rumours and gossip?    The railway runs on rumour and apart from a few nuggets, most of it comes to nothing. This is why I took pains to point out that the Henley issue was unconfirmed BTW^▸ (by the way).

That said, a Rumours section could be quite fun.

[ChrisB]

My point was that Henley isn't 'unfounded'. Mark Hopwood has been heard to say FGW^▸ (First Great Western) are aiming at that, ASsuming the 180s are assigned.

Now, any talk of the 180s definitely arriving *is* currently unfounded.

[eightf48544]

Overall, rumour or not, it's a queer way to run a railway.

Usable stock, which is possibly better than some currently running, is standing idle when there a number of obvious uses for it.

That's not good economics.

[ChrisB]

Its not idle though at present, is it?

Aren't the units only 'spare' once other units are released to cover thdm by other TOCs^▸ (Train Operating Company)?

[inspector_blakey]

That said, a Rumours section could be quite fun.

I've often thought the same - a section of the board that comes with a strict health warning where those kinds of titbits can be posted and people can take them at face value... I like the idea.

It would also provide a helpful place for us moderators to put the occasional slightly far-out speculation posts that pop up...

[ChrisB]

I can think of someone who might find it a comfortable place to frequent... :-)

[northwesterntrains]

My point was that Henley isn't 'unfounded'. Mark Hopwood has been heard to say FGW^▸ (First Great Western) are aiming at that, ASsuming the 180s are assigned.

Now, any talk of the 180s definitely arriving *is* currently unfounded.

The latest information on the DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) website relating to the 180s is:

The Department is currently engaged in discussions with First Great Western about the future use of the Class 180s. These negotiations are subject to affordability and value for money. It is not currently possible to say how many of the Class 180s will be used in the future. An announcement is expected to be made later this year if these discussions are successful.

Dated: July 2011

[ChrisB]

I reckon they're FGWs^▸ (First Great Western) if the price that FGW are willinmg to pay is right. The DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) seem keen on Revenue Protection at the present as it generates funds that are otherwise missed. So it's really down to FGW to seal the deal, and they want to enter the refranchising, so expect a done deal soon....

Mark Hopwood did say at the recent Customer Panel meeting that IF they land them, they won't be ready for service until what would have been the May12 TT change date though. Driver (re-)training and fleet repairs are the reasons

[northwesterntrains]

There's been suggestions that if Alliance Rail's ORR^» (Office of Rail and Road formerly Office of Rail Regulation - about) application is successful that they will order new Polaris trains for the new services, with current open access operators Grand Central and possibly Hull Trains adding to the order as HST^▸ (High Speed Train)/180 replacement.  This could mean starting late 2013 that the rest of the 180s will be released.

[anthony215]

I wouldnt be surprised if grand central decided to jump onboard with alliance rail to order some polairs bi-mode trains, Hull trains is a little bit of a surprise.

Then again when FGW^▸ (First Great Western) get the IEP^▸ (Intercity Express Program / Project.)'s what will happen to the 180's that said FGW could get all 14 180's back and use them instead of all the bi-mode IEP'S or the 180's could be displaced to ATW^▸ (Arriva Trains Wales (former TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company))) etc.

If a order for polaris trains is made, then perhaps  CSRE could do a deal with the government about order cheap DMU^▸ (Diesel Multiple Unit)'s to replace the pacers, this could lead to them also opening a uk plant, like Hitachi.