S. Endon-Lee wrote:
With the coming of the revamped timetable for South West Trains,
I've just experienced what I believe to be a Desiro on the Hounslow
loop. Seems like a nice interior, but we'll see how it puts up with
the vandals. The loo designed to accommodate the requirements of
disabled people was out of use. Ride quality was odd compared to
the ?317s used previously - it seemed to be far more badly affected
by track imperfections that the 317: it didn't jolt, but swayed and
rolled more like being on board ship.

Anyway, the odd thing was that I was on an eight car train, but only
the doors in the front four cars were enabled at Wandsworth Town,
Barnes, Kew Bridge and Isleworth on the way out from Waterloo. The
reason given was short platforms - or in other words, as the
platforms hadn't changed, the train was too long for the platforms.

I was on the 19:22 Waterloo to Weybridge via Brentford tonight, which
was an 8-coach Desiro (Class 450). There was no problem with all the
doors opening at stations as far as Chiswick (where I alighted). There
was a platform announcement being made as I alighted about passengers
for Chertsey (I think) having to use the front 4 cars. Your problems at
Wandsworth Town etc. must have been some sort of fault with the train.

I found the ride very comfortable, much more so than the 455s. Dwell
times seemed longer than the 455s, perhaps because all the bleeping from
the doors gets tiresome. Not only do we have to have bleeps before they
open and before they close and while they're closing and for a second or
two after they've closed, but we also have to endure what I assume are
the right-away signal from the guard and the acknowledgement from the
driver. It wasn't so bad when they were discreet buzzes, but yet
another two high-pitched electronic bleeps are two too many. Why are
they broadcast to all passengers?
--
Richard J.
(to e-mail me, swap uk and yon in address)


This prompts several questions:

1) How come it wasn't possible to lock out only the rearmost car's
doors? This would be more useful.

2) Surely the platform lengths were known - so why build trains that
are too long, and don't easily accommodate themselves to short
platforms by locking out the minimum number of doors necessary?

3) How long are these trains compared to the older (?317) stock (or
even the slam door stock)?

4) I noticed that the resignalling work a few years ago seemed to
move the stop point (the 8 car/4 car black signs with white 4 or 8
numeral) on several platforms, wasting some of the platform length
- why was this? Surely it makes sense to use all the platform
available?

5) What will the long term solution be? I'm not at all sure the
Isleworth platform can be extended easily or cheaply, as the station
fills the space between two bridges - it looks like major bridge
rebuilding/widening would be needed. Barnes has only recently been
resignalled and had platform work so I'm surprised it's too short.

Thanks in advance for any enlightenment.

Regards,

Sid