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Class 701 'Aventra' trains for South Western Railway

Goldfish62

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To be fair people chuck their rubbish on the floor/seats on stock that does have bins, so it won't be much different.
Then there are the 458s which have bins, but they aren't fit for purpose. You can't even get a paper coffee cup in without pre-crushing it.
 
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Express380

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no one knows... SWR haven’t started 701 training or acceptance, and their drivers have not had DOO training yet.
Thank you very much for the reply thats great as I'm after seeing some of the older stock before they are replaced
 

Chiltern006

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im going to say summer, as the 720s on GA started training crew in March iirc, and then entered service in November. you've got your 455s for a bit longer I think. going by that August-October is probably the best estimate
 

theironroad

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Thank you very much for the reply thats great as I'm after seeing some of the older stock before they are replaced

Don't rush. You've probably got the rest of this year and some of next before other stock finally goes.

There's probably about 600 or 700 drivers that need and haven't started any training on them yet, so it's going to be a fair while before all the 455/7/8/707 can be let go.
 

Goldfish62

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no one knows... SWR haven’t started 701 training or acceptance, and their drivers have not had DOO training yet.
But presumably they have a draft acceptance and training programme ready to go as soon testing has got rid of all those annoying software problems.
 

RealTrains07

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Careful now, some will say that anything less than 50 years of service is not a full life.

In other news, the first units were built in 2002, so 19 years old.
Now thats mid life. 19-20 years. 40 is end of life. 50 is way too long for any train to still be on the rails.

Has anyone got any news on th next 701 run from derby? Have any arrived recently?
 

theironroad

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But presumably they have a draft acceptance and training programme ready to go as soon testing has got rid of all those annoying software problems.

Theres a massive backlog of trainee driver training (swr recruited heavily due to driver shortages before covid) but many of these trainees haven't started basic hours haven't or done any driving for almost a year so will essentially have to start again.

The training school have finite driver ops trainers to carry out basic training and also qualified new traction courses.

Social distancing guidelines will need dropping or large increase in willingness for bubble testing to get two people in cabs.

It's going to take a couple of years to get everything back on track and while no doubt we'll see at least one 701 see passenger service this year, it's not going to be the whole suburban network.
 

TT-ONR-NRN

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Theres a massive backlog of trainee driver training (swr recruited heavily due to driver shortages before covid) but many of these trainees haven't started basic hours haven't or done any driving for almost a year so will essentially have to start again.

The training school have finite driver ops trainers to carry out basic training and also qualified new traction courses.

Social distancing guidelines will need dropping or large increase in willingness for bubble testing to get two people in cabs.

It's going to take a couple of years to get everything back on track and while no doubt we'll see at least one 701 see passenger service this year, it's not going to be the whole suburban network.
I think they said just under two years from the first train's introduction to replace the full fleet, which is irritating personally as the 455/456/458 are in a decrepit state.
 

Goldfish62

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Theres a massive backlog of trainee driver training (swr recruited heavily due to driver shortages before covid) but many of these trainees haven't started basic hours haven't or done any driving for almost a year so will essentially have to start again.

The training school have finite driver ops trainers to carry out basic training and also qualified new traction courses.

Social distancing guidelines will need dropping or large increase in willingness for bubble testing to get two people in cabs.

It's going to take a couple of years to get everything back on track and while no doubt we'll see at least one 701 see passenger service this year, it's not going to be the whole suburban network.
The closest equivalent must be Greater Anglia, who are slowly getting their equally huge fleet of Aventras into service. It'll be interesting to see how that progresses.
 

DennisM

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This evening passing Wimbledon depot on a down service I noticed a 701 was making it’s way into the shunt neck at the Earlsfield end. As we passed and I saw the rest of the train round the bend I was surprised that it was 5 coaches of a fixed 10 car unit. Didn’t manage to see the split end part properly unfortunately or the movement back the other way.
 

spark001uk

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This evening passing Wimbledon depot on a down service I noticed a 701 was making it’s way into the shunt neck at the Earlsfield end. As we passed and I saw the rest of the train round the bend I was surprised that it was 5 coaches of a fixed 10 car unit. Didn’t manage to see the split end part properly unfortunately or the movement back the other way.
I saw the same thing a few months ago, 701002 was split in half outside the depot. Some part of training perhaps? I don't know.
 
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I saw the same thing a few months ago, 701002 was split in half outside the depot. Some part of training perhaps? I don't know.
They have to be split to access the bogie drop which also has the best roof access and also the wheel lathe. Coaches 5/6 are EMS vehicles that have a Dellner coupler like the cab ends with a camera fitted so the driver can see the couplers view from the cab.
 

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theironroad

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They have to be split to access the bogie drop which also has the best roof access and also the wheel lathe. Coaches 5/6 are EMS vehicles that have a Dellner coupler like the cab ends with a camera fitted so the driver can see the couplers view from the cab.

Interesting.

Would a driver or fitter be able to split the train outside of a depot?

Could be useful if there was an issue with one half and by splitting it the good half can be moved. It could prevent passengers becoming stranded or having to be evacuated
 

swt_passenger

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Interesting.

Would a driver or fitter be able to split the train outside of a depot?

Could be useful if there was an issue with one half and by splitting it the good half can be moved. It could prevent passengers becoming stranded or having to be evacuated
He’d probably need a set of tools to separate the gangway, as it doesn’t seem the usual spring and friction set up. But also, wouldn’t it need a secure partition door - is there one?
 

Goldfish62

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I see First Rail are tendering for "Inspection and audit activities relating to the build and acceptance of the Class 701".

The contract commences on 3rd May 2021 and runs for 10 months until 28th February 2022. This appears to indicate a very ambitious introduction schedule.
 

73128

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Why would they be geared for 100mph running if they didn't have any intention of running them a long away along the routes to Weymouth (or at least Bournemouth) and Portsmouth?



http://firstmtrswstaff.com/#better_trains
Some peak hour Guildford new line services (pre-covid) run non stop between Surbiton and Waterloo and vv and need 90mph to fit in on the fast line with other longer distance services.
 

Goldfish62

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Some peak hour Guildford new line services (pre-covid) run non stop between Surbiton and Waterloo and vv and need 90mph to fit in on the fast line with other longer distance services.
And the fact that trains are specified so they can be used elsewhere other than their initial allocation. Hence why the 707s have DOO equipment.
 
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swt_passenger

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Some peak hour Guildford new line services (pre-covid) run non stop between Surbiton and Waterloo and vv and need 90mph to fit in on the fast line with other longer distance services.
That sounds a reasonable theory, but in the SA the fast line speeds gradually reduce to 75 mph between Surbiton and New Malden. Weren’t those particular services usually 455 anyway?
 

southern442

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That sounds a reasonable theory, but in the SA the fast line speeds gradually reduce to 75 mph between Surbiton and New Malden. Weren’t those particular services usually 455 anyway?
There was definitely at least one fast London - Surbiton 455 working, although I can't imagine they were exactly up to the job.
 

TEW

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There was definitely at least one fast London - Surbiton 455 working, although I can't imagine they were exactly up to the job.
There were a few in both directions, and several ECS movements too. They always seemed fine. There is a booked 455 fast from Clapham Junction to Woking now, the 0016 London Waterloo to Guildford on a Sunday morning.
 

wastedlife

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There were a few in both directions, and several ECS movements too. They always seemed fine. There is a booked 455 fast from Clapham Junction to Woking now, the 0016 London Waterloo to Guildford on a Sunday morning.
Yes, from memory the 455 fasts were 06:01 from Woking to Waterloo, 07:53 from Guildford (via Cobham) and one if not both of the 08:42 and 08:48 (although I've a feeling the rolling stock changed a few times on one of those in recent years - I'm normally in the office well before then so rarely took them). In the evening the 18:48 (18:52 since 2018/19?) to Guildford via Cobham and the 19:23 to Hampton Court.
 

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