Class 378s

One of the units failed at Richmond this afternoon not sure which one it was though, i only know this because i was working the the service behind would have been the 14.29 ex Richmond. I did see unit 378 016 in service so that could well be its first day in service.

went on 013 today and whilst the air con is nice, I couldnt even get a seat in the middle of the day I think this more standing room idea wasnt very good and the journey seemed to take longer than it did in a 313

Will there be any 378s in service on saturday?

Also, if there are three class 378s running on weekdays from next week, does that mean the two class 508s can be withdrawn?

I think one circuit is avaliable for Saturday. No the 2 508s will remain until further notice and no 313s are due to be withdrawn just yet either.

The last two Saturdays it was on the WLL shuttles

On this day I chanced to appear at Richmond on my D stock whilst two Class 378's were berthed, one in platform 3 and the other in platform 4.
So I managed to photograph them side by side...though in reality I realy wanted a 378 next to a 313 !!!

The defective unit was 378 005, whilst 378 016 was next to it.

Cheques don't get signed until we've run the 2000 miles fault free and all is ok...

Just travelled on 013 on the WLL. My impression was very positive – I think these units are superbly fit for their purpose. I found the seats slightly hard, but quite acceptable for the relatively short distances they'll be sat in. And the perches by the doors are very comfortable, unlike those on the Jubilee.

Windows – The centre ones are small, to allow for the external destination displays; but the rest are normal size.

Interior – generally roomy and spacious ambience, particularly with the wide through connections. I noticed quite a few people standing (or leaning; there's plenty of leaning space) rather than sitting, although there were empty seats. I didn't notice the ceiling being particularly low. Air conditioning very effective, and notably quiet. Looking around, people in general seemed very favourably impressed.

Announcements and internal displays are as good as the best on the underground.

Ride very smooth, acceleration quick, smooth and quiet.

Now for the seats. There are 36 in the driving cars, 40 in the trailer, including 3 tip-ups in each of the 2 wheelchair areas per car. So that's 112 per 3-car set, and 152 per 4-car set, compared with 192 (or thereabouts) in a 313. But then if you take account of the 50% increase in peak frequency (with more to come), that's 912 seats per hour compared with 768, a 19% increase. If you then add in the very comfortable 12 perches per car, a 4-car set has 200 seats+perches, 8 more than a 313, giving 56% more overall seating/perching capacity per hour than a 313! And of course in crush conditions they'll be eminently better at absorbing all the standees.

And a final point on the 313s – many of the seats tend to be unoccupied anyway, due to the habit of many short-distance passengers of sitting on the outside and people not bothering to edge their way through.

So I reckon the designers have come up trumps.

The 378 was actually on the WLL today, and it was 378013:

i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm67/astock5000/Overground/IMG_6368.jpg
i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm67/astock5000/Overground/IMG_6375.jpg
i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm67/astock5000/Overground/IMG_6379.jpg

But has 378002 been converted to a production unit yet? If after 4 or 5 more class 378/0s, the 378/1s start to be delivered, when will the other 378/0s be delivered?

I would be surprised if the 24 x 3 car class 378/0s are not delivered before more than a couple of the 378/1 units for the ELLX. It will be much better to have a single unit type for the current LO services than to retain a few 313s as well. Also, remember that the required platform extension works have yet to start (at most locations anyway) and that the 4-car 378/2s (and conversions from 378/0s) won't be able to run in service until this has happened.

There is the possibility of running 4 car units on the DC lines of course, but there'd still need to be enough 3 car units for the North and West London line services, at least until Willesden Junction High Level is rebuilt.

But how many units do they need for testing the ELLX infrastructure? We are still 10 months away from ELLX opening and the majority of the 378/0 are already in existence, even if they need finishing off. Wasn't the original plan that the 377/5 production line would be turned over to 378/1 once deliveries of those were finished. So I could see a couple of 378/1 units inserted into the 378/0 production line, but the 378/0s being finished before fleet production of the 378/1 starts.

Most of the ELLX infrastructure can be tested as easily with a 378/0 as with a 378/1 (excepting the 4 car bits).

Another point to consider is the some of the 313s are due to goto the new Southern franchise before Dec 2010 and they will need refurbishment.

True, but there have been units waiting outside at Derby for months now, I could see at least five from the Birmingham line when I went past in June. Assuming that the units has been numbered in order of production, I'd say that at least 17 exist of the 24 (with 001 and 002 needing a refit), hence my 'majority'. Bombardier seem to have been delivering a mix of units straight off the production line (the high numbers) and units that have been stored awaiting room at Willesden (the low numbers).

Production of 20 units in 10 months seems reasonable, if that is all that is being produced, it would only be 5 months at 1 per week.

I'll be interested to hear what the inside word is, especially on how many units exist but are awaiting delivery or finishing off

Isn't the old section scheduled for January opening with it extended to Croydon in June? I thought the Summer 2010 headline was a contingency only.

013 was at Richmond this morning, was shut down. A 313 was in service, shame, as I havent been on the 378s yet.