Abellio Greater Anglia Class 755s (Regional Trains)

[agnott]

The 37 just went by on the 'wrong line' towards Bury.

 

[Railperf]

Engine failure.

They have four engines for goodness sake! There should be a way for the train to continue of one of the four decides to shut down!! This is bonkers! Even the 156s could limp along on one engine!

 

[WroxhamTroll]

Have the 755's been cleared to run in multiples, the first train from cromer today did not have an STP scheduled empty coaching stock service ahead of it to pre position. Are we finally splitting ?

 

[F Great Eastern]

They have four engines for goodness sake! There should be a way for the train to continue of one of the four decides to shut down!! This is bonkers! Even the 156s could limp along on one engine!

Believed to be more than one engine out of use...

 

[dk1]

They have four engines for goodness sake! There should be a way for the train to continue of one of the four decides to shut down!! This is bonkers! Even the 156s could limp along on one engine!

Makes no difference if you have 40 engines. On a 755 if the computer says no...

 

[dk1]

Have the 755's been cleared to run in multiples, the first train from cromer today did not have an STP scheduled empty coaching stock service ahead of it to pre position. Are we finally splitting ?

No running in multiple permitted. Not even empty to, from or within the depot.

 

[samuelmorris]

No running in multiple permitted. Not even empty to, from or within the depot.

Is that ever planned to be possible or is it considered too much work? I thought this was originally the intention but 7 months after service entry I haven't heard anything to suggest it's being looked at.

 

[PG]

Makes no difference if you have 40 engines. On a 755 if the computer says no...

Computer says no, Welcome to the 21st century
Anyone interested in this old sprinter with a few million miles on the clock...

 

[dk1]

Is that ever planned to be possible or is it considered too much work? I thought this was originally the intention but 7 months after service entry I haven't heard anything to suggest it's being looked at.

Hopefully but no idea when. It was said that so many had different software updates you would be lucky to get two on the same page but never had that confirmed.

 

[Grumbler]

Hopefully but no idea when. It was said that so many had different software updates you would be lucky to get two on the same page but never had that confirmed.

Ye gods - so you're saying they don't have all the same software? I had assumed that installing the latest software version would be part of the standard maintenance procedure so they'd all be identical!

 

[samuelmorris]

I'm beginning to wonder if software updates are being applied on a reactionary basis to fix faults rather than as an actual deployment regime. That's a bit worrying...

 

[dk1]

Ye gods - so you're saying they don't have all the same software? I had assumed that installing the latest software version would be part of the standard maintenance procedure so they'd all be identical!

But they all get maintained at different times so maybe that's it. I'm no expert on that. I just have to drive the thing

 

[F Great Eastern]

I'm beginning to wonder if software updates are being applied on a reactionary basis to fix faults rather than as an actual deployment regime. That's a bit worrying...

Does sound a bit that way, doesn't it.

I cannot say I'm surprised though.

 

[F Great Eastern]

But they all get maintained at different times so maybe that's it. I'm no expert on that. I just have to drive the thing

Yet they all come back to Crown Point every night so there should be scope to update the trains then?

How is the software updated? Man and a laptop? USB stick? Over the air?

 

[MikeWM]

Currently on a 3-car on the 1757 off Stansted, which seems fairly peak...

I’ve seen a lot of 3-cars around on Norwich/Cambridge/Stansted the last few weeks, which is quite a disappointment compared to the capacity improvement that the 4 car sets offer, and we were just starting to get used to... What services are getting the 4 car sets instead?

On Friday at Cambridge North both the 1734 (to Norwich) and the 1739 (from Norwich) were 3-car sets. So after 'spoiling' us with an actual capacity increase for a brief while, is this the new norm?

 

[samuelmorris]

Yet they all come back to Crown Point every night so there should be scope to update the trains then?

How is the software updated? Man and a laptop? USB stick? Over the air?

There's probably not an army of people doing it. The firmware update process for a train is probably more than a 30 second job, so doing all 30 odd units in an evening would be a bit of a challenge.

 

[Shunter_69]

They don’t all go back to Crown Point every night. Usually 3 at Colchester and probably some at Ipswich.

 

[F Great Eastern]

There's probably not an army of people doing it. The firmware update process for a train is probably more than a 30 second job, so doing all 30 odd units in an evening would be a bit of a challenge.

I didn't mean to do them all at once, I meant that it was the optimal time to do them - staggered over a few nights as part of a deployment regime.

I know some bus operators have automatic updates happening as soon as the bus arrives in the depot overnight so no manual work at all.

 

[LAX54]

Apparently it is Stadler calling the shots on software and hardware issues.

 

[LAX54]

The reopening service (0736 NRW - GYM) via Berney Arms was announced on train as going via Reedham but was switched at Brundall to go via Acle, Media and AGA staff on board and AGA lady said line to Berney Arms might reopen later today. As far as I know Lowestoft line has reopened.

Bit of an own goal by GA we think

 

[dk1]

Yet they all come back to Crown Point every night so there should be scope to update the trains then?

How is the software updated? Man and a laptop? USB stick? Over the air?

They don't all come back. They stable at Colchester, Ipswich and Cambridge. Recently Lowesift and Beccles too. No idea how they do it. Might even be a woman.

 

[dk1]

On Friday at Cambridge North both the 1734 (to Norwich) and the 1739 (from Norwich) were 3-car sets. So after 'spoiling' us with an actual capacity increase for a brief while, is this the new norm?

At the moment most are just glad of a train regardless of the length.

 

[RailWonderer]

It seems in my limited experience of using the rurals they mix 3 cars and 4 cars up randomly, and some show up as short forms on journeycheck. GA clearly don’t feel the need to diagram that carefully.

As for software, even if all trains are updated at the same time within three or four days who’s to say all units react to the new update the same way? When you get technological all sorts of problems give way.

If anyone is familiar with this, how much more advanced is the 755 software compared to a 360 or 379 and how are those updated, if at all?

 

[hwl]

I didn't mean to do them all at once, I meant that it was the optimal time to do them - staggered over a few nights as part of a deployment regime.

I know some bus operators have automatic updates happening as soon as the bus arrives in the depot overnight so no manual work at all.

At this stage rolling out a new version to just a few units so you don't unintentionally cripple the whole fleet and then seeing how it performs is probably a less risky idea...

 

[F Great Eastern]

At this stage rolling out a new version to just a few units so you don't unintentionally cripple the whole fleet and then seeing how it performs is probably a less risky idea...

Obviously I mean after it has been tested.

My concern was that the only time software was getting updated was as a reaction to problems rather than when it was tested and ready.

 

[hwl]

Obviously I mean after it has been tested.

My concern was that the only time software was getting updated was as a reaction to problems rather than when it was tested and ready.

Unlike other manufacturers Stadler buys the TCMS in so some of the changes are within their direct control and some aren't making things more complicated.

Stadler have far less in-house software expertise than anyone else.

Siemens when through a stage like this with the 700s and in the end a 4.5month delivery pause to get the the software back to a structured batch change approach was needed.

There is "tested" and then there is tested in real life!

 

[Railperf]

Makes no difference if you have 40 engines. On a 755 if the computer says no...

Nothing like some additional built-in redundancy!

 

[306024]

It seems in my limited experience of using the rurals they mix 3 cars and 4 cars up randomly, and some show up as short forms on journeycheck. GA clearly don’t feel the need to diagram that carefully.

As for software, even if all trains are updated at the same time within three or four days who’s to say all units react to the new update the same way? When you get technological all sorts of problems give way.

If anyone is familiar with this, how much more advanced is the 755 software compared to a 360 or 379 and how are those updated, if at all?

They will be diagrammed carefully, otherwise you wouldn’t get 3 v 4 cars showing up as a short form. As for actually being able to stick to the plan........

 

[RailWonderer]

They will be diagrammed carefully, otherwise you wouldn’t get 3 v 4 cars showing up as a short form. As for actually being able to stick to the plan........

Oops I meant allocate carefully. In the morning they don’t seem to bother about prioritising the 4 cars for Ipswich - Cambridge/Peterborough and Norwich -Cambridge.

 

[dk1]

Oops I meant allocate carefully. In the morning they don’t seem to bother about prioritising the 4 cars for Ipswich - Cambridge/Peterborough and Norwich -Cambridge.

It's first come, first served at the moment.