Abellio Greater Anglia Class 755s (Regional Trains)

[F Great Eastern]

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

Good to see that GA are on top of things with in actual plan rather than just winging it day by day .....

 

[PG]

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.

That's normally just to update the ticket machine. Though it does have a function in providing the real time location feed so passengers can track their bus its rather less complicated than software that controls the actual performance of the bus.

 

[dk1]

Good to see that GA are on top of things with in actual plan rather than just winging it day by day .....

No point causing a delay just for an extra coach. As Stadler release GA prep and deliver into traffic.

 

[East74]

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?

Meanwhile, they often seem to be running 4-cars on the Felixstowe line. Surely this is the line that needs 4-cars the least, after all for so long a single car 153 was serving it? I don't really understand how GA works sometimes.

 

[Railperf]

Meanwhile, they often seem to be running 4-cars on the Felixstowe line. Surely this is the line that needs 4-cars the least, after all for so long a single car 153 was serving it? I don't really understand how GA works sometimes.

As mentioned above it seems to be a case of Stadler /GA getting the first available units out - depending on any issues refuelling etc.
Once all the units are delivered and accepted and settling down reliability wise..i guess we will start to see the 3 and 4 car units on their planned diagrams

 

[Shunter_69]

The Sudbury branch has to be a 755/3 but my understanding is that all the others are cleared for both variants hence the random allocations.

 

[gingerheid]

Another 755 playing up between Ipswich and Cambridge today?

 

[Grumbler]

The fertiliser hits the air conditioning...
https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/politi...ted-rail-boss-insist-jonathan-denby-1-6531973

 

[samuelmorris]

The fertiliser hits the air conditioning...
https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/politi...ted-rail-boss-insist-jonathan-denby-1-6531973

The denial is real

 

[Shunter_69]

Bit of a non story really, You can’t test for everything before things go into service and invariably things go wrong, things are better than they were in December so to say things are improving is a fair comment and the Yarmouth blockade was planned months in advance and was down to Network Rail so you give GA grief for it shows a lack of understanding or more likely a willing to understand by EDP.

 

[TheEdge]

Bit of a non story really, You can’t test for everything before things go into service and invariably things go wrong, things are better than they were in December so to say things are improving is a fair comment and the Yarmouth blockade was planned months in advance and was down to Network Rail so you give GA grief for it shows a lack of understanding or more likely a willing to understand by EDP.

Archant in general and the EDP in particular, along with ITV Anglia will never miss a chance to give GA or the railways a good kicking. Even after the tragic incident at Norwich this morning they were leading with delays rather than the actual incident.

 

[samuelmorris]

Bit of a non story really, You can’t test for everything before things go into service and invariably things go wrong, things are better than they were in December so to say things are improving is a fair comment and the Yarmouth blockade was planned months in advance and was down to Network Rail so you give GA grief for it shows a lack of understanding or more likely a willing to understand by EDP.

That's not the point. We all expected the teething problems, GA are publicly saying that they couldn't have predicted them. Why not? Every other new stock introduction came with them, this one isn't necessarily any worse than so many others in the past...

 

[F Great Eastern]

That's not the point. We all expected the teething problems, GA are publicly saying that they couldn't have predicted them. Why not? Every other new stock introduction came with them, this one isn't necessarily any worse than so many others in the past...

Because that would mean Greater Anglia acknowledging that they have made mistakes and there were issues with their bid tand the timescales that were involved in them. Many people close to the industry, both here and elsewhere said from day one that the timescales were unrealistic and it required everything to go according to plan which was highly unlikely to happen.

Either they are saying that they couldn't have predicted the problems to save face and to protect their image/brand (and if that's the case it speaks volumes about what their priorities are). or they honestly believed that it was the case, which would show a level of naivety from a bid team that didn't appear to be that experienced in such projects, an engineering director who had never worked on the railway whom according to many on here, barely seeked input from people in operations.

I do actually feel sorry for Jonathan Denby to a degree though, despite the spin he keeps pumping out. Ultimately he's being wheeled out on a weekly basis to deliver this stuff and take all the flack because the man at the top appears to only come out for photo ops but be curiously absent when any criticism comes GAs way. Can't be an easy job for Mr Denby.

 

[Wivenswold]

None of this will matter if Boris calls in all the Franchises and fires them. As per the rumours in Westminster.

 

[hwl]

I do actually feel sorry for Jonathan Denby to a degree though, despite the spin he keeps pumping out. Ultimately he's being wheeled out on a weekly basis to deliver this stuff and take all the flack because the man at the top appears to only come out for photo ops but be curiously absent when any criticism comes GAs way. Can't be an easy job for Mr Denby.

They really need to hope he doesn't leave, an absolute miracle worker they don't deserve.

 

[samuelmorris]

Because that would mean Greater Anglia acknowledging that they have made mistakes and there were issues with their bid tand the timescales that were involved in them. Many people close to the industry, both here and elsewhere said from day one that the timescales were unrealistic and it required everything to go according to plan which was highly unlikely to happen.

Either they are saying that they couldn't have predicted the problems to save face and to protect their image/brand (and if that's the case it speaks volumes about what their priorities are). or they honestly believed that it was the case, which would show a level of naivety from a bid team that didn't appear to be that experienced in such projects, an engineering director who had never worked on the railway whom according to many on here, barely seeked input from people in operations.

I do actually feel sorry for Jonathan Denby to a degree though, despite the spin he keeps pumping out. Ultimately he's being wheeled out on a weekly basis to deliver this stuff and take all the flack because the man at the top appears to only come out for photo ops but be curiously absent when any criticism comes GAs way. Can't be an easy job for Mr Denby.

I think both - ill-prepared and over-ambitious, but such is the nature of winning a bid nowadays, you put something realistic and sensible in, you won't win as your bid will clearly deliver less or more slowly than your competitors - the fault with that doesn't lie with GA, it lies with the government/DfT.

Even if by some miracle you get it right by pitching something you genuinely believe you can deliver and still win the contract, you then get stuffed by the DfT regardless when things like infrastructure upgrades aren't carried out on time / at all. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

None of this will matter if Boris calls in all the Franchises and fires them. As per the rumours in Westminster.

This isn't really the place for that discussion, but if that happens, who does it instead? GA's staff aren't all suddenly going to become civil servants.

 

[Bald Rick]

They really need to hope he doesn't leave, an absolute miracle worker they don't deserve.

Quite. It’s fair to say if Jon wasn’t there then the media wouldn’t be complaining about new train issues, as there wouldn’t be any new trains!

 

[simple simon]

I must admit that I was surprised that there was so much difficulty getting the Stadlers in to service - unlike the 720s these are not a brand new train design so I think it could have been reasonably expected that they would experience fewer teething issues than has happened.

As for the media: vultures who will never let truthful, honest, objective reporting get in the way of giving a brutal kicking to someone / an organisation when something goes wrong.

 

[F Great Eastern]

I must admit that I was surprised that there was so much difficulty getting the Stadlers in to service - unlike the 720s these are not a brand new train design so I think it could have been reasonably expected that they would experience fewer teething issues than has happened.

Stadler are brand new to the UK, so there was always going to be issues because of that. The idea that some have had on this forum that they work well in another country so should perform the same in the UK is one which was trotted out a couple of years ago, it wasn't valid then and it isn't now. Also Stadler contract a lot out and do far less in house which further complicates things.

We have different signalling systems here in some cases, different rules when it comes to operations and different systems that the stock needs to be tailored to. We also have a different gauge and one of the problems that Stadler were reported to have was in relation to the rules about DOO in this country and they've never built trains for UK infrastructure.

Yes the Aventra is a new product, but at least the company behind them, but Bombardier has extensive experience of the UK Market and the infrastructure that it needs to operate on, so this should give them a head start on Stadler in some areas, even if it is a relatively new product compared to the Flirt.family.

 

[samuelmorris]

I must admit that I was surprised that there was so much difficulty getting the Stadlers in to service - unlike the 720s these are not a brand new train design so I think it could have been reasonably expected that they would experience fewer teething issues than has happened.

As for the media: vultures who will never let truthful, honest, objective reporting get in the way of a good kicking of someone / an organisation when something goes wrong.

I'd have said the opposite - to the UK the 755 is a totally new concept, whereas the 720 is just an incremental change on an admittedly new design but they are not the first iteration of the type. Work done on the 710s should allow them to hit the ground running but I bet it won't. Most of the problems with rolling stock introductions are systems integration rather than straight up 'do they work or not'. Look at things like the 331 regen braking issues, 800/801 signal interference issues and so on, to say nothing of Crossrail! A train working well abroad is almost irrelevant for its use over here and even then, there are operators reporting issues with Stadler units overseas too.

 

[simple simon]

Hmm, points taken...

Railways have become too hi-tech and lost the KISS principle (keep it simple and stupid).

 

[Tug]

There are problems with the Wherry Lines out of Norwich this morning with the new automatic level crossings having difficulties. As it is being reported to involve them at the same time is this another 755 detection issue?

https://www.edp24.co.uk/motoring/level-crossing-problems-trains-disrupted-1-6534143

 

[F Great Eastern]

Some are being effected by points failures, some by problems with level crossings according to Journeycheck and the train I was on, someone was saying that they heard it was due to a fault with the signalling system.

 

[dk1]

There are problems with the Wherry Lines out of Norwich this morning with the new automatic level crossings having difficulties. As it is being reported to involve them at the same time is this another 755 detection issue?

https://www.edp24.co.uk/motoring/level-crossing-problems-trains-disrupted-1-6534143

Nothing to do with units just new signalling bugs. Telephones to crossings and points failed yesterday, these and more have gone today and signals are reverting to danger. On the plus side, the issues affecting Whittlingham Junction since last week where rectified yesterday afternoon. Theres still another block to go as the windy weather prevented the installation of the new bridge at Postwick.

It never rains...

 

[Tug]

New trains, new points, new signalling, new trackwork, new automatic crossings, a winter February and the rail industry's planning ability!

No it never just rains and I am hardly surprised.

 

[samuelmorris]

a winter February

As opposed to a summer February?

 

[dk1]

New trains, new points, new signalling, new trackwork, new automatic crossings, a winter February and the rail industry's planning ability!

No it never just rains and I am hardly surprised.

Nothing changes. I hear theres an event today to celebrate the resignalling too

 

[Abbo]

Nothing changes. I hear theres an event today to celebrate the resignalling too

Oh dear and I hear , on the radio, that Wherry Line delays today due to signalling problems.

 

[Class 170101]

As opposed to a summer February?

We had one of those a couple of years back - reached 29 degrees Celsuis I recall.

 

[dk1]

Oh dear and I hear , on the radio, that Wherry Line delays today due to signalling problems.

Oh yes. It's new so to be expected.