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Class 701 'Aventra' trains for South Western Railway

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swt_passenger

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CarrotPie said:
I watched his video of the build in Derby in 2019 for comparison. Dos anyone know the identity of the unit(s) fitted with a pantograph?
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701001, 701501, 701502. There was a list published in an ORR authorisation letter, there’s a pdf back in post #2276:

Class 701 'Aventra' trains for South Western Railway

Another 701 heading south 6X24 0735 Derby Litchurch Lane to Eastleigh Works 119 late passing Kettering, Locos 66739/745. If anyone knows which 701 it is - would be gratefully received, thank you.
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Samzino

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Agreed which are mainly being stress tested now

swt_passenger said:
701001, 701501, 701502. There was a list published in an ORR authorisation letter, there’s a pdf back in post #2276:

Class 701 'Aventra' trains for South Western Railway

Another 701 heading south 6X24 0735 Derby Litchurch Lane to Eastleigh Works 119 late passing Kettering, Locos 66739/745. If anyone knows which 701 it is - would be gratefully received, thank you.
www.railforums.co.uk
Click to expand...
I believe they had the pantos removed after the dual capability testing?

Nvm realised those 3 units actually have their pans still. With the 701001 the only non photographed one but it supposed to have two pans since it's essentially 2 half units.

Do wonder what type of pantograph that is, seems quite curvier than the standard Aventra units.

Below pic is No 701502 with a pantograph:
1705436251750.png
Source
 
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73128

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Goldfish62 said:
Not running at weekends currently.


Well, in testing, especially during the early days, they've run on every section of electrified line.

We also have to remember that as per the 720s, there are likely to be surplus units unless SWR decide to restore services to pre-Covid levels, which seems a very remote possibility.
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Lymington Pier (for Yarmouth (Isle of Wight)) ( 5 car sets only) ??
 
Samzino

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Wonder what dual voltage opportunities the 3 701s might see on uk lines. Would be nice to return a favour to pad for all those days of fuming HST diverts :D
 
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lawried123

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Class93 said:
First trip from Staines to Windsor today. Would agree the window seat is a little cramped but otherwise, an excellent train and can’t wait for them to be deployed fully.
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The one thing I find very disappointing is the lack of seat back tables. The journey from Wokingham to Waterloo is just under one hour and a quarter but the tedium of such a long slow journey is alleviated by the fact that on the current trains you can have a cup of tea or coffee at the table or work on your tablet or mobile phone. I personally will find it very uncomfortable being squashed up by the window with nowhere to put anything on a table for well over an hour. . The likelihood of being able to get one of the very few of the tiny tables by the window is very unlikely.
I think the trains are well suited to suburban lines but not on the longer lines like Wokingham or Reading,

Lawrie
 
CarrotPie

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stadler

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swt_passenger said:
701001, 701501, 701502. There was a list published in an ORR authorisation letter, there’s a pdf back in post #2276:

Class 701 'Aventra' trains for South Western Railway

Another 701 heading south 6X24 0735 Derby Litchurch Lane to Eastleigh Works 119 late passing Kettering, Locos 66739/745. If anyone knows which 701 it is - would be gratefully received, thank you.
www.railforums.co.uk
Click to expand...
I think they did a similar thing with the 707s too. I seem to remember that 707 001 and 707 002 are the two units that have been fitted with pantographs. They tested them through the Thameslink Core and ECML routes.

Have these three 701s with pantographs ever used AC away from the test track? Were they ever tested on AC on the mainline like the 707s were? Or was it solely on the test track?
 
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WWTownEnth

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Any idea when these units will start to work regular scheduled passenger services? And have any more been commissioned for passenger service yet?
 
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SWT_USER

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Dan G said:
Very quiet on here; I take it that the 701s that are in traffic are running happily?
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To be fair it is good news they are running... But there's not much else to add until they run on a proper diagram all day. A single trip in the middle of the day isn't helping anyone other than SWR who can claim the units are now in service.
 
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Goldfish62

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SWT_USER said:
To be fair it is good news they are running... But there's not much else to add until they run on a proper diagram all day. A single trip in the middle of the day isn't helping anyone other than SWR who can claim the units are now in service.
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It's two return trips, but yes, no good until they're diagrammed as you say.
 
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Invincible

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Robin Procter said:
.... :lol: No news is good news perhaps?

Any reports of any 701s seen recently on tests?
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As well as 701 037, 5Q21 on Realtime trains, presume a 701 no number shown, run by SWR for testing, maybe training?, on the Waterloo return on the Hounslow loop route. Repeated later as 5Q22, 23 and 24.

Seems no 5050/1/2 testing from Eastleigh to Waterloo, Poole, Staines, Eastleigh today.
 
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SWT_USER

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Goldfish62 said:
It's two return trips, but yes, no good until they're diagrammed as you say.
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Thanks. I had missed a second return trip being added.

It would be more encouraging if there was a staff training plan in place and these were being used for that. Even having one/ both of the trips in the peak would be a quick win for passengers.
 
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800001

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