I didn't realise there were actually 90 sets... so 20 more than I thought doing nothing.

 
Today's attempt to sprinkle a bit of PR sparkle on a poor unsuspecting 701 has been written up by SWR.

And they do mean that quite literally - saying today was "to mark the Arterios being named and celebrate the next ten being rolled out". There is a list headed "The next Arterios will be rolled out as follows", with the existing five diagrams and ten more to start by next June. These are spread out over most of the planned network. No sign there of committing to bring the fleet into service by a specific date - maybe they've learned not to say things like that.

They have also updated the Arterios page that was there before.

 
Perhaps in a parallel universe but certainly not in the one that is operated by SWR.

 
All 70 sets will be in service from tomorrow then? Fantastic. Oh wait...

 


I think that should have read "later today". Probably around 10:30, Waterloo P19.

I'm mystified that all the comments I read on the 701 introduction assume that SWR's objective was to get the fleet into service as soon as possible. That does not fit the observable facts. What does is that SWR have no objectives of their own, only what DfT decides for them. And that is for the programme to cost the absolute minimum, with a secondary objective that the new trains should replace the old ones before there are not enough of those still serviceable to run a service at all.

 
With all the problems these have had, and those affecting the Elizabeth Line trains, I assume that Journey Check are uploading a new standard excuse for delays "This is due to a software fault on the train"

 
... and finally?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0en023712zo

 
An "update" from Paul Clifton

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-berkshire-68239657

I think I saw a clip of one running through Winchester recently, presumably from Eastleigh to Feltham?

 
And that's a whole week of one round trip per day with nothing going wrong - with either of the trains used. Next week ... two round trips per day! So it's the softest of soft starts, and barely counts as an introduction. I mean, they don't yet really add to the fleet so as to allow any old trains to be withdrawn or new permanently timetabled services to run.

 
Rail project delivered years behind schedule......in other news, bear seen heading for woods with roll of Andrex.......

 
More a case of laughing stock than rolling stock at the moment.

Though I’m sure that’ll be largely forgotten in a couple of years.

 
There's something on the BBC News website - see - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-berkshire-67926688,

Paul Clifton was also on the early evening news on the subject (not repeated after the 10 o'clock news)

 
yep

 
Did they fail with their pledge to operate one by the end of last year then?

 
Booked at 1025 for the next 3 mornings

 
Followed very closely by 5C91 (Empty coaching stock and driver only operation).

 
And now ... the day many sceptics thought would never arrive (and may still turn out to be a false dawn). 2U91, an "ordinary" passenger service, operated with 701037, has just got as far as Clapham Junction on the way to Windsor. Mind you, it is still an additional "only runs if required" service, not a standard timetabled one.

 

On the contrary; among SWR's effusive introduction to their Arterios:

Most of that material is from 2020 - a year after and their first due date - and now all actual dates have been removed, leaving this:

 
I presume the 701s are classed as metro, and hence no loos?

 
Will we see Class 455s still in service in 2024 I wonder?

 
According to this BBC article, we're now on a promise! A vague one, of course.

That's rather misleading, I think. The status update that Paul Clifton has got is probably more accurate:

And here's Alstom, making sure they get their excuse in:

 
Saw one out in the wild on Saturday.

 
After several months of the same thing - reports of naughty software, ASLEF insisting the cabs needed changing, and trains shuffling between places where some of their arms-length list of other faults could be fixed ... a sniff of progress at last! There was a "meet the manager" event for a 701 (or was it "meet the 701" for managers?) last week.

An article in RAIL magazine (posted in railforums) includes DfT's reply to an FoI request about what ailed the 701 programme.  That identifies the issues:

And now there are reports that ASLEF have finally signed an agreement about driving the things, so training will start soon (though the RAIL article implied the dotted line was still unsigned then). Whether the cabs have to be as was, as is, or after any more changes, is not clear.

This morning BBC TV local news reported a DfT "announcement" of some kind, that they were confident SWR would have a plan for entry into service by the end of June (that's the date for the plan, not entry into service, of course). Presumably that's based on something more direct than the FoI/RAIL route.

 
SWR put out a statement today about why they are keeping some of their 707s until August, rather than passing them on to Southern. Obviously the reason is the lack of 701s. And that, they put bluntly, is Alstom's issue to fix (the blunt part of this was quoted on BBC South Today yesterday). Here's the key bit:

 

And from a cyclists point of view possibly better, as SWR's most recent improvements have removed cycle spaces on trains. I will have to wait and see, especially how bikes work from Reading in the morning peak (don't tell me, I know and I don't, but plenty do).

 
No hurry at all…the 455s they replace are still in reasonable nick!

 

Two years, at least one Pandemic, and several excuses from Bombardier about "unforeseen software" later, I seen one!

True they have been doing some runs around Aldershot and Waterloo and the SWML for some time, but for the last few days have been venturing as far as Reading too. This was TSC'd as operated by GBRf, which implies mileage accumulation/fault-free running. It actually ran with TD 5Q05 in the WTT, but shown as 522X (and ZZ) in the signalling diagrams, and was 710025.

But there are now also paths in the WTT for trains operated as ECS by SWR, via Reading. The TSC picked is for a default consist of 2x450, but I expect it to be a 701 when it arrives. Not that any of those has yet run, but there's no hurry, is there?

 
When the order for these new trains was announced, they were due to turn up from the middle of 2019. However, there are a lot of other Aventras a-building, and most of those have been late getting onto service. So who thinks they will actually be running to and from Reading by May 2019?

SWR do, that's who. These posters went up a few days ago, implying that they need to stop selling first class tickets before the next timetable ends. (Taken at a funny angle to try to avoid reflections, not altogether successfully.) I guess we may need a thread to discuss the trains, when they do turn up, and any delay to that.

PS: There is a second poster saying "as part of our £90 million station improvement programme work to install new ticket gates will start here in mid November 2018". I wonder, how many station users will regard that as an improvement? (And yes, the original is commaless.)