x404.co.uk
http://www.x404.co.uk/forum/

My favourite train is broken.
http://www.x404.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=5069		 Page 1 of 1
Author:  paulzolo [ Sun Dec 20, 2009 10:34 pm ]
Post subject:  My favourite train is broken.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8423780.stm

I’m saddened that it has been affected in this way. It’s a great train, and it seems to have been badly affected by the weather.
Author:  EddArmitage [ Sun Dec 20, 2009 10:37 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: My favourite train is broken.
Kind of relieved I'm getting a ferry to France for New Year, although that decision was only made due to cost and last-minute-ness.
Author:  jonbwfc [ Mon Dec 21, 2009 12:44 am ]
Post subject:  Re: My favourite train is broken.
Only a railway part run by British privatised train operatives would be crap enough to fail when it's snowing even when the trains go in a tunnel.

Jon
Author:  Nick [ Mon Dec 21, 2009 2:06 am ]
Post subject:  Re: My favourite train is broken.
Surely this can't be the first time in the tunnel's history that there has been a bit of snow around?

Why has there been a breakdown this time? :?
Author:  big_D [ Mon Dec 21, 2009 5:18 am ]
Post subject:  Re: My favourite train is broken.
The trains are older now?

The problem is probably humidity in the tunnel, as opposed to cold. The trains are running cold and iced up, suddenly run into a warm tunnel and all the ice on running gear and electrics turns into condensation and probably shorts something out.
Author:  l3v1ck [ Mon Dec 21, 2009 7:25 am ]
Post subject:  Re: My favourite train is broken.
Quote:
A Eurostar spokeswoman said: "We have managed to get 500 passengers on to a Javelin high-speed train to Dover Priory and from there we bussed them on to a ferry to take them on to Paris and Brussels.
"They were the most vulnerable people, who needed to get back home to France and Belgium."
No arrangements were in place for Britons stuck in France, she added.

So stuck Britons in France get jack [LIFTED] help. :evil: Typical.
big_D wrote:
The trains are older now?
Weren't they overhauled just a few years ago?

EDIT

Turns out the overhauled trains won't be available until 2012. I suspect that will be sped up a bit now.
Wikipedia on the Class 373's wrote:
In 2008, Eurostar announced that it was beginning the process to institute a mid-life update of its Class 373 trains. This process will take in the 28 units making up the Eurostar fleet, but will not include those units used exclusively in France by SNCF. As a part of the update process, the Italian company Pininfarina has been contracted to redesign the interiors; the first refurbished Eurostar is not due in service until 2012. Eurostar plans for the entire process to be complete by 2014, allowing the fleet to remain in service beyond 2020.
Author:  adidan [ Mon Dec 21, 2009 8:11 am ]
Post subject:  Re: My favourite train is broken.
Code:
trapped on five trains in the Channel Tunnel on Friday and Saturday in wintry weather

Well, if I was caught in wintry weather I'd quite like a tunnel to shelter in...
Author:  l3v1ck [ Mon Dec 21, 2009 8:20 am ]
Post subject:  Re: My favourite train is broken.
adidan wrote:
Code:
trapped on five trains in the Channel Tunnel on Friday and Saturday in wintry weather

Well, if I was caught in wintry weather I'd quite like a tunnel to shelter in...

Isn't it very warm in the tunnel? The news reports I read said people were too hot has the air-con was off after the power failures on the trains.
Author:  big_D [ Mon Dec 21, 2009 8:21 am ]
Post subject:  Re: My favourite train is broken.
Heard on the news this morning, a French spokesperson for the service said that condensation on the electrics, causing shorts was the problem.
Author:  adidan [ Mon Dec 21, 2009 8:37 am ]
Post subject:  Re: My favourite train is broken.
big_D wrote:
Heard on the news this morning, a French spokesperson for the service said that condensation on the electrics, causing shorts was the problem.

Really, I thought it was jam packed with turbines to keep the air flowing.

Mind you if it's flushing freezing air through a red hot tunnel then condensation would be a possibility they should have maybe thought about in the planning stage perhaps?

* continues random speculation *
Author:  belchingmatt [ Mon Dec 21, 2009 9:29 am ]
Post subject:  Re: My favourite train is broken.
jonbwfc wrote:
Only a railway part run by British privatised train operatives would be crap enough to fail when it's snowing even when the trains go in a tunnel.

Jon


A news article I heard on radio 1 within the last hour said the problem was with the French. I'd like to believe it but the 'track' record of British transport would suggest otherwise.
Author:  big_D [ Mon Dec 21, 2009 9:39 am ]
Post subject:  Re: My favourite train is broken.
adidan wrote:
big_D wrote:
Heard on the news this morning, a French spokesperson for the service said that condensation on the electrics, causing shorts was the problem.

Really, I thought it was jam packed with turbines to keep the air flowing.

Mind you if it's flushing freezing air through a red hot tunnel then condensation would be a possibility they should have maybe thought about in the planning stage perhaps?

* continues random speculation *

The trains are travelling long distances at high speeds, on the French side. They build up an ice layer on everything as they go along, then they hit the hot air of the tunnel and it turns to water and drips all over the electrics.

Add to that humidity in the tunnel - look what happens when you leave something metal or plastic in the car over night and then bring it into a warm room, it is wet and slippery within seconds... (or even a pair of glasses after a walk in the cold, they steam up the second you get inside)
Author:  adidan [ Mon Dec 21, 2009 9:42 am ]
Post subject:  Re: My favourite train is broken.
Indeed. It does seem somewhat of an oversight though...
Author:  l3v1ck [ Mon Dec 21, 2009 10:52 am ]
Post subject:  Re: My favourite train is broken.
belchingmatt wrote:
jonbwfc wrote:
Only a railway part run by British privatised train operatives would be crap enough to fail when it's snowing even when the trains go in a tunnel.

Jon


A news article I heard on radio 1 within the last hour said the problem was with the French..

The design is based on the French TGV, so it is their fault rather than ours.
Author:  davrosG5 [ Mon Dec 21, 2009 12:16 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: My favourite train is broken.
IIRC the tunnel temperature was in the region of 25 C so coming from below or just above zero is going to cause fairly massive condensation.
It would certainly not be a trivial task to keep the humidity levels int he tunnels very low as they are obviously open at both ends. Still, as others have said, I would have expected somewhat better protection for the electrics.
Mind you, they can't even do that on the LHC so I guess it's not that surprising :roll:
Page 1 of 1 All times are UTC
Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group
https://www.phpbb.com/