Class 701 'Aventra' trains for South Western Railway: progress updates

[hwl]

I heard 4 to 5 days........ Not 45 days. Am I wrong? 45 days is a long time to be carrying 'that' around.

Much near the latter not the former.

 

[James James]

Interesting Modern Railways video about these units (linked on 707 departure thread) - apparently they have unique toilets and the tanks can go up to 45 days before emptying (3-4 days is the norm) - be interesting to see that in practice and whether they start to smell!

Sounds like a bioreactor toilet - those aren't anything new: the Netherlands have had them since the previous century. Tank is a bit of a misnomer too, they don't really store all that much (they turn most of what comes in into water which is discharged, only little remains).

 

[Meerkat]

Sounds like a bioreactor toilet - those aren't anything new: the Netherlands have had them since the previous century. Tank is a bit of a misnomer too, they don't really store all that much (they turn most of what comes in into water which is discharged, only little remains).

Can they then chuck the remains into a boiler to heat the depot?

 

[Gag Halfrunt]

Here is the video. They are indeed bioreactor toilets.

 

[moley]

Interesting that the 707s are sub leased to South Eastern.

 

[43096]

Interesting that the 707s are sub leased to South Eastern.

I think you will they will be sub-leased back from South Eastern until they actually transfer. Fairly standard practice for fleets transferring between operators that are delayed in moving.

 

[Train Boy]

Delivery schedule for Tuesday - believe it will be 701008

 

[Goldfish62]

Interesting that the 707s are sub leased to South Eastern.

No, Southeastern will be sub-leasing them to SWR.

 

[spark001uk]

Looks like there's some night testing going on between woking and basing, two units. One mysteriously waiting mid journey for the other to approach in the opposite direction, like they did down Wareham (though with a 444). Perhaps they're testing the regen braking between two of the same class?

 

[Roger B]

Looks like there's some night testing going on between woking and basing, two units. One mysteriously waiting mid journey for the other to approach in the opposite direction, like they did down Wareham (though with a 444). Perhaps they're testing the regen braking between two of the same class?

Perhaps testing electrical/magnetic fields/currents generated when two units pass one another and their effects/potential effects on signalling and other trackside components?

 

[theironroad]

Looks like there's some night testing going on between woking and basing, two units. One mysteriously waiting mid journey for the other to approach in the opposite direction, like they did down Wareham (though with a 444). Perhaps they're testing the regen braking between two of the same class?

Perhaps testing electrical/magnetic fields/currents generated when two units pass one another and their effects/potential effects on signalling and other trackside components?

I'd imagine it's all of that and also con rail current demands when both will be under full power.

 

[swt_passenger]

Perhaps testing electrical/magnetic fields/currents generated when two units pass one another and their effects/potential effects on signalling and other trackside components?

Also aerodynamic effects, I suspect; there’s all sorts of stuff that has to be assessed.

 

[spark001uk]

Makes sense. They're being more thorough than they seemed with the 707s anyway. It did indeed seem as though they were concentrating on adjacent passes last night, as they were turning back over the ETC at Farnborough.

 

[Spartacus]

Here is a list of the deliveries and testing info to date:

701008 reported due in Eastleigh on 1 September 2020

Remarkably, over a year after this post 701008 IS being delivered today! https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/R02537/2020-09-01/detailed

 

[TrainTube]

701 is testing in the Guildford area today. Does anyone know the number?

 

[TEW]

701 is testing in the Guildford area today. Does anyone know the number?

701005

 

[superalbs]

Remarkably, over a year after this post 701008 IS being delivered today! https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/R02537/2020-09-01/detailed

The post was edited.

 

[spark001uk]

701005 on 5Q44 seen heading for Virginia Water, 21L. Passing its new mate 008 coming the other way.

Add: Also worked 5Q30/31/32 (Eastleigh Windsor and back) today (weds)

 

[ijmad]

How much money do you think they paid the brand consultants for 'Arterio'

 

[Goldfish62]

How much money do you think they paid the brand consultants for 'Arterio'

I thought it was a staff competition.

 

[Flange Squeal]

I thought it was a staff competition.

Staff were indeed welcomed to submit suggestions, but there was no voting and I seem to recall it was said at the time that the company may still choose their own name.

 

[ijmad]

Well without meaning to be unkind if some hardworking member of staff did submit 'Aterio' I think it's a silly name. And naming new fleets is silly in general.

 

[Goldfish62]

Well without meaning to be unkind if some hardworking member of staff did submit 'Aterio' I think it's a silly name. And naming new fleets is silly in general.

I can see the logic in the name, but it's still silly. Just like Azuma, Adelante, Castle class etc.

 

[3141]

Agree with #1942 and #1943. Inventing names without any real meaning - at least in English - just to have a name rather than a class number is futile. The explanation for Arterio about having something to do with transport arteries is artificial. When there's serious travel disruption and trains are crawling from one signal to the next, passengers will be making rude comments about arteriosclerosis. The name Pendolino did at least have some relationship to the train itself, and being Italian made it seem more exciting than if they'd called it Tilter. Twenty years from now, when commuter trains have almost no seating, there'll perhaps be a train called Capacito, to try to divert passengers' attention from the fact that they all have to stand.

 

[Domh245]

Train names make sense for intercity travel where you are trying to sell an 'experience' rather than a point to point journey. For suburban journeys like this, I really don't see the point

 

[fgwrich]

I can see the logic in the name, but it's still silly. Just like Azuma, Adelante, Castle class etc.

Speaking of silly train names, I note that the "Zephyr" name for Grand Centrals Class 180s appears to have been rather short lived, as they have returned to calling them "Adelante" as well, and similarly updated their website to reflect this. Fully agree with the rest on your list though - More so when we have units like the 80X series, IET of GW, Azuma on EC, Paragon for Hull, whatever the Midland & Avanti choses to name theirs etc.

 

[spark001uk]

Just left Waterloo, where I had a lucky chance to walk down the platform that 002 (5Q31) was sitting in. Think it's safe to say this unit isn't finished! A few seats fitted, mainly in end coach, then there's some seat frames, a few of which are just laying there not anchored to anything. Lots of sandbags packed along the coaches, a pallet of 12 x 2cwt (about 1.2ton) weights behind each set of doors, exposed wiring panels, accelerometers on seats, cabling everywhere. Very much the test bed.! On departure the motor drives were louder than I thought they'd be, similar to the electrostars but a bit louder.

 

[ijmad]

All of the Aventras seem to have quite noisy traction motors, the 710s are ear-splitting compared to the 378s. So I'm not surprised the 701s are similarly loud. They are quite quiet inside though.

 

[TrainTube]

Currently stuck just before weybridge, green signal so must be a fault. Holding up trains on the slow line behind it.

 

[samuelmorris]

All of the Aventras seem to have quite noisy traction motors, the 710s are ear-splitting compared to the 378s. So I'm not surprised the 701s are similarly loud. They are quite quiet inside though.

You sure about that? I would have said they're quite similar. The 710s certainly have noisy traction motor blowers when the 378s do not, but otherwise they're not too bad.