baker_06
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No - 135 is having a new seat reservation system installed so will be away longer than the other completed refurbs.
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Interesting. Do you know if it’ll be similar to the system in the Hitachi units? Or is it more of a software upgrade?
baker_06
Member
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Yes - it will be the same colour light system that is installed on the Hitachi fleet.
Sounds like a good idea, will this be installed on the rest of the fleet too? I do find it interesting when I recall hearing somewhere that it was too difficult/expensive to replace them originally, but anything is better than the awful displays currently in the 390s!
Hopefully, the seat layout won't change to one that is too tight. Good that they are changing the displays, the current ones are terrible.
Wonder how much needs to be done, both the original Pendolino and the Hitachi screens are supplied by Televic.
It’d a be a huge waste of money to change the seat layouts on all of the units that have been refurbished, you’d pretty much be paying for the same work twice.
Left Widnes on Friday. Its now in Liverpool for vestibule work.
baker_06
Member
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The seat layout won't change. The 390's already refurbished will be retrofitted with the new reservation system moving forward. The 9 cars hopefully will have this fitted during refurb.
TheHovisKid
Member
Is C still unreserved? Platform and door displays just say U&G now.
Wouldn't think it'd be popular with staff if the facing pair outside the TMs office were bookable!
Wouldn't think it'd be popular with staff if the facing pair outside the TMs office were bookable!
I'm pretty sure coach C is still unreserved. The door displays are programmed by the TM, so it is likely just human error. If it was only U&G, there wouldn't be any unreserved seating on a nine-car.
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
Aren't those now marked as "reserved staff"?
DaveyJones
Member
I think they say "Special Assist" - and are used at the Train Managers Discretion
SansHache
Member
390135, with the new seat reservation displays, returned to service this morning (9th September), operating service 1A18 from Liverpool.
The first refurbished 9-car train (390045) has now departed Widnes for Edge Hill and is replaced by 390009.
The first refurbished 9-car train (390045) has now departed Widnes for Edge Hill and is replaced by 390009.
Will every train through Widnes have the new seat res displays now. How is it 390135 is the first one to have the displays?
Does anyone know of any pictures of the displays on 135?
SansHache
Member
The new seat reservation system is being trialled on one 11-car and one 9-car initially. If all is in order then the new displays will be introduced into the 9-car refurbishment scope and will be retrofitted to the trains that have already been refurbished.
It is not just a question of replacing the displays, the new system works over the train ethernet network rather than being embedded in the Train Management System (TMS) functionality. This has required an update to the TMS software to remove the redundant functionality.
Delaying the introduction until all 11-car trains have been refurbished avoids the added complexity of having 11-car trains with different seating configurations.
I see 390045 is now out and about in service - hopefully won’t much longer until there’s hardly any unrefurbished sets left!
From photos I’ve seen, there doesn’t look to be any difference to the reservation system on 045.
From photos I’ve seen, there doesn’t look to be any difference to the reservation system on 045.
So far, from comments above it appears only 390135 has the new reservation displays.
Blindtraveler
Established Member
Really good the refurbed 9 cars are starting to roll out
I am still as fond of these units post refurb as I was previously and glad they haven't been spoiled
I am still as fond of these units post refurb as I was previously and glad they haven't been spoiled
pokemonsuper9
Established Member
I'm pretty sure the 807 is the train in white arriving at the start, and the one in Avanti livery is 805005
Correct
ewanh723
Member
The lights look good, though it seems a bit underwhelming. I would’ve thought it could be an opportunity to have proper LCD displays like on the IETs, which would be far easier to read.
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
Interesting, is that just the little coloured lights bodged onto the existing system?
Does it load any quicker?
Does it load any quicker?
Wonder if they've fixed the truncation issue. The old system had plenty of space that Virgin/Avanti would enter text for in a booking, but could only display a short string of text (iirc it was 24 characters with anything more being cut off). If you knew what you were doing you could get them to be quite rude sometimes 
I'm sure a small green LED is going to be really easy to see next to the screen with a bright green back-light.
Shame they didn't change them to the white text on black OLED ones.
It might not look much, but it will make it much easier to tell at a glance the level of reservations in a carriage.
I do agree though it would have been better contrast to have went full 80X with the white on black displays.
I do agree though it would have been better contrast to have went full 80X with the white on black displays.