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Basicly electic/diesel multiple unit type of uk train that has had the whole fleet recalled to depot for examination due to cracks found in the body/chassis, causing mayhem on a few uk main lines,all services cancelled yesterday, strangely no pictures/video or diagrams have been seen on the media of what has cracked or how to repair it.
As there are rail enthusiasts on here any idea whats happening.Rail mag pushed this last week as well as problems on the 195 fleet.
Dunno, but does make you question the policy of running single type fleets.
At least virgin west coast had pendolinos and voyagers.
Google it.. some pictures around. They've been in the Scotsman if nowhere else.
The advantages of running a single type fleet are cost, and an easy life as you don't have to carry multiple sets of maintenance parts, different maintenance schedules etc (my brother says who's an engineer on trains at Bombardier)
Good job it happened whilst passenger numbers are still low. (Are they?)
The advantages of running a single type fleet are cost, and an easy life as you don’t have to carry multiple sets of maintenance parts, different maintenance schedules etc (my brother says who’s an engineer on trains at Bombardier)
6 Vs half a dozen.
Another example is some regions ambulance services have all the same for that reason. Others split it 50/50 on purpose (WMAS IIRC was Fiat/Renault and were super organised about fixing things before they broke as they had tens of millions of miles of data on those vans and how long various bits lasted). Others..... whatever was cheapest/fundable when funds allowed (NWAS seem to have a random assortment of just about every brand going, and didn't fix things untill they fell off the van).
Seems to be affecting the caledonian sleepers and Caf stock as well as the 385 units now.Going to be a huge cost to Hitachi for all the compo for missed journeys and extra staff costs.
Eddie Stobart don’t use a single truck supplier. Makes sense to me.
Yes, saw it flagged in an industry email early last week. Unless the UK 800s are so specialised this issue should be affecting other fleets across the world.
HS2 are commissioning world first trains......
Allegedly the electro-diesel hybrids are UK only. Not sure if that’s true
I think the Class 800 is pretty heavily based on the 395 Javelin's running on HS1. They must have been running on there for 10 years already. I wonder if they hadn't found the cracks previously because they hadn't looked.
The advantages of running a single type fleet are cost,
Yep the Ryan Air model, run one type of plane and minimise maintenance costs, scheduling complexity, staff training etc. Although they seem to have moved to two models as they want to add the Boeing "nose dive" to their fleet for some reason - some target for number of passengers killed per year which they haven't hit for a few years in a row.
SInce steam went every new train on british railways has been faulty to start with, takes many years to sort the faults then they become quite reliable or are scrapped.
Pity there are so any of these newer trains all made by the same firm and maintained by the same firm.
I think the Hitachi official press release has some photos that are online.
The single class fleet thing is pretty common. In fact, it was the major goal for BR- one type of loco for each duty which gave us the Standard Class 2, 4 and 5 and the 9f, and later the 20, 37 and 47. The reason there was so much variety in reality was basically because management at BR made a balls of it and kept changing their minds.
Privatisation has effectively led to a single freight class, the 66, with a few alternatives for different duties (68s for faster multi purpose stuff, 70s for heavy freight) and not much else since the late 90s. It has worked exceptionally well, and locomotive availability is significantly higher with the 66 as the main motive power than anything in BR days. There's no reason it shouldn't work for the 800s for passenger duties.
The bath tub curve!
Apparently every gun on the Mary Rose had a different bore. Each gun had a wooden ring made that matched the bore. The hold contained a collection of a sorted sized canon balls. Some one was sent to the hold with the hoop to choose a Canon ball for their gun.
I suspect maintaining a fleet of steam trains was a bit easier than that. But I bet it was still a might mare
Does anyone know how quickly they can be fixed? Are Hitachi really liable for lost revenue, it seems unlikely unless it's specifically in the contract
Hitachi are responsible for their maintenance. It is a supply and fix contract, so the Train Operating Company, (in effect, the Government) will not be paying for the trains if they are not available for use. Loss of revenue - you mean less loss now than if running the trains. There is no profit running a train at the moment. (in fact, in good times, there is little profit). There may be some compensation payments from Hitachi, but not a great deal, as typical trains are running empty for most of the day.
Allegedly the electro-diesel hybrids are UK only. Not sure if that’s true
Very possible.
Haven't the rest of Europe been all electric for decades? When they had to rebuild their infrastructure in the 1950's.
Saw someone on twitter saying that it could have been the fact that there are diesel engines aswell as electric ones so extra weight for the train to handle.
Eddie Stobart don’t use a single truck supplier. Makes sense to me.
Remind us of what you do for a living...
https://www.ltmuseum.co.uk/collections/collections-online/photographs/item/2002-18948
'Eddie Stobart don’t use a single truck supplier. Makes sense to me.'
That's because Eddie Stobart use lorries, and so do lots of other people so spares are easy to get. Trains, not so much.
At least virgin west coast had pendolinos and voyagers.
Not quite true - I think Virgin had the pendolinos for the WCML, Voyagers were mainly for XC routes.
Remind us of what you do for a living…
Thankfully, no longer anything with an asset management angle 🙂
Voyagers were mainly for XC routes.
XC did run them, but they were also used extensively on the WCML
Avanti are still using Voyagers on the WCML. Though they have ordered some new trains from Hitachi to replace them...
Voyagers were mainly for XC routes.
XC did run them, but they were also used extensively on the WCML
Beyond Crewe, where the routes split up some are not electrified so the Voyagers serve Chester and the North Wales mainline. Pendolino's go to Manchester and Scotland.
From what I understand it's the bogie bolster attachment point on the base of the coach that's fatiguing (think a shock top mount on a bike, except the shock stops the carriage from swaying from side to side as the bogie negotiates a curve). Perhaps they don't like the idea of having to stabilise a big v12 diesel as well as all the electrical gubbins they've crammed underneath.
I assume they've double checked to make sure it isn't a sticker?
Beyond Crewe, where the routes split up some are not electrified so the Voyagers serve Chester and the North Wales mainline. Pendolino’s go to Manchester and Scotland.
Maybe now, but Virgin did run voyagers into Scotland on the WCML.
I was on one that hit a car on a level crossing in the Borders.
Looks like they still do.
https://newsdesk.avantiwestcoast.co.uk/news/upgrade-to-avanti-west-coast-voyager-fleet-now-complete
The 20 Voyagers operate over the non-electrified sections of the West Coast Main Line in addition to running from London to Scotland, via the West Midlands. They will remain in service until 2022 when Avanti West Coast will introduce a fleet of new Hitachi Class 805 and 807 trains.
Maybe now, but Virgin did run voyagers into Scotland on the WCML.
AH OK, I tend to get off at Crewe so I've been on both. Must be some non-electrified bits going far north. That's the reason for the mixed stock though.