A summer fouray to the West Country

When the weather plays ball there can be few places better to be than some of the idylic parts of the UK. With the forecast looking good and a few days off work last summer, things were aligning for a quick trip to the West Country.

I had a few aims, for which I would need to drive, both to access locations and also to ensure I had the equipment I would need. 

The main objectives of the trip were to access some of the locations around Dawlish that are not so easily accessible by public transport; such as the bridge at Powederham, and also achieve some shots that required a pole, drone, steps or even wellies- I'm pleased to report that I did ultimately use all of these!

On into Cornwall this time of year is perfect to capture the GWR Night Riviera Sleeper, a notoriously difficult train to photograph since so much of its route is only covered in darkness. There were some more shots of short 'Castle' HST sets that I wanted to try as well as the big prize of catching a china clay train at the famous location of Golant on the Fowey Branch.

If I achieved all of that I would be more than happy!

The first surprise of the trip came along almost as soon as I had finished the drive from south-west London. Having pulled open train times maps up on my phone I was surprised to see some odd digits- sure enough this did turn out to be one of those hard to come by freight trains in this area. While I'm sure I could have positioned myself better had I known, I was none the less pleased to see 66139 rounding the corner with 6V99 from Exeter Riverside to St Blazey. 14/06/2022. 

43154 powers 2C77 west from Dawlish, taken by pole at Horse Cove between Dawlish and Teignmouth. This was another shot I was very keen to achieve while I had the kit with me as since the erection of a paliside fence some years ago the shot is no longer possible without some sort of height enhancement. 14/06/2022.

150247 crosses the Royal Albert Bridge over the Tamar as it heads into Cornwall. This was the final shot of the trip taken on a brief stop off at Saltash since the light was still so good before embarking on the long driver home. 15/06/2022.

Cockwood Harbour on the Exe estuary is another classic spot in this area, though the view from above by drone opens up a new perspective as 43378 heads west with 1V44 the 06:11 Leeds - Plymouth. 14/06/2022.

66165 crosses the causeway in the village of Golant working 6G05 the 20:15 empty china clay train from Fowey Docks to Goonbarrow. The train was fortunately running significantly early allowing the shot to be captured in good light. Our earlier attempt to photograph the inbound working had been caught by a spurious cloud, however waiting several more hours for the tide to come in also made a huge difference to the picture. 15/06/2022

The light doesn't last long on the front of eastbound services at Dawlish, and a shot here in this direction had long been on my list. Happily 43042 + 43009 were able to oblige. 14/06/2022.

43122 leads a class 255 'Castle' HST across the causeway at Cockwood Harbour. These trainsets are now scheduled to be withdrawn by December 2023. 14/06/2022.

43009 and 43042 are captured working an early morning service from Cornwall into Devon seen on the approach to St Germans. 15/06/2022.

A 'nearly' shot at Liskeard with 150261 on the Looe branch while a class 802 IET passes above on Liskeard Viaduct. The two photographs which have been combined to create this image were taken less than a minute apart- it nearly happened! 15/06/2022.

A 'Castle' HST powered by 43154 and 43170 is captured crossing Largin viaduct near Liskeard. I knew a shot here was possible but it took some fighing through vegetation to find a reasonably clear vantage point from which to see the trains. 15/06/2022.

A class 802 is captured near Restormel between Bodmin and Lostwithiel with a Penzance bound service. 15/06/2022.

43040 leads a 'Castle' HST up though Powderham along the Exe estuary as it approaches its next call at Exeter St Davids. 43088 is on the rear. 14/06/2022.

57605 is pictured at the head of 1C50 the 23:45 London Paddington - Penzance 'Night Riviera'. It is only possible to photograph this overnight sleeper train in high summer and we were certainly pleased that the weather played ball when it passed our location at Trerulefoot in full sun just after 06:00. After a late arrival at our hotel in Liskeard the previous night we had not had a lot of sleep, but getting the shot we were really after had made it worthwhile! 15/06/2022.

The Night Riviera - Overnight from London to Cornwall

GWR sleeper coaches wait to welcome passengers at London Paddington

Paddington's First Class Lounge.

Overnight sleeper services often seem a bit of a secret of the UK's railways. Few notice these trains as they snake across the country overnight providing vital connections between the capital and some of the UK's far reaching limbs. There has been plenty of press recently about the Caledonian Sleeper which connects London with many destinations in Scotland and is investing in a new fleet of coaches fit for the 21st century- however there is one other sleeper service remaining in the UK, also offering an excellent level of service; the Night Riviera running 6 nights a week between London Paddington and Penzance.

Before departure from London Paddington sleeper passengers are entitled to use the First Class lounge adjacent to platform 1 (First class lounge facilities and showers are also available at Penaznce and Truro) to enjoy a complimentary snack or hot drink before departure. On our trip the lounge at Paddington was beginning to wind down as we entered but was still a pleasant place to wait for the trains departure at 23:45. Cabins are available for guests to book in from 22:30. 

57604 in heritage 'GWR' colours prepares to haul the Night Riviera from
Paddington to Penzance on the evening of 13th April 2018.

The Night Riviera is hauled by one of GWR's class 57 locomotives, converted from class 47's which previously hauled the train in the early 2000's. These locomotives haul the train of smart green liveried refurbished Mk3 coaches. Unlike the Caledonian Sleeper offering these vehicles are far from brand new- but you would be hard pushed to notice from the inside as a full refurbishment has left the Mk3's with a clean and comfortable interior. Cabins comprise of two bunks which are never shared with other travellers, each cabin containing a small wash basin. Toilets are provided at the ends of each coach. The compartments are sleek and clean with charging facilities and reading lights- the beds are also very comfortable with two pillows and a towel provided for every passenger. Accessible cabins are available for those who require them.

The Night Riviera Lounge car shortly after departure from Paddington

Like the Caledonian sleeper the Night Riviera contains a lounge car in the consists which is the perfect place for sleeper passengers to unwind. The lounge too has been fully refurbished and is one of the smartest Mk3 vehicles currently on the network (though the odd tables for two with seats that don't face each other are very bizzare!). A bar service of drinks and light snacks is available, however given the much later departure from London it is not surprising that the offer is more limited that the Caledonian Sleeper, and it is also noticeable that the lounge car empties out much quicker- after all it is almost midnight by the time the train has departed from London and most sensible passengers will be heading to bed!

Hopefully a good sleep later passengers wake as the train is winding its way through Cornwall to a complimentary continental breakfast served in the cabins. The only problem perhaps is that the journey is, for a sleeper, so short! Arrival in Truro is little over 7 hours after departure from London and Penzance is reached shortly before 8am. This is all in all though a great way to travel between London and Cornwall and wake up relaxed and ready for the day. (Hopefully the loud knocking noise from beneath our coach was a one off and has been fixed by the GWR engineering team!).

Great Western HST Farewell

The stars of the final line up at Paddington are undoubtedly the two 'celebrity' power cars 43002 'Sir Kenneth Grange' and 43185

43093 arrives into Truro with the 09:50 Penzance - Paddington

After 43 years of front line use on Intercity Trains from London's Paddington May 18th 2019 saw the final scheduled use of HST's by Great Western Railway. For the final day four HST's were in use worked by 43188/43093, 43162/43188, 43009/43155, 43002/43198. Notable was the pairing of the final set which saw both the first (002) and last (198) production power cars paired for the final day and also work the final GWR passenger service from Paddington with the 18:30 Paddington - Taunton.

The last full length GWR HST to leave Cornwall crosses Brunel's Royal Albert Bridge over the River Tamar.

43185 at Reading with the 09:29 Swansea - Paddington

My day actually started on the previous Friday night with a positioning move on the Night Riviera Sleeper (worthy of another post in its own right) which would position us (and a handful of other enthusiasts with the same idea) at Truro in time to enjoy the last GWR HST out of Cornwall, 43093 and 43188 on the 06:50 Penzance - Paddington. I have ridden surprisingly few HST's as far as Cornwall and the crossing of the Royal Albert Bridge into Devon was a poignant moment. Similarly provoking of emotions was what could quite possibly be my final run along the Dawlish sea wall beside an opening HST window - having travelled extensively over the scenic railways of the UK the stretch from Newton Abbot to Exeter St Davids is still probably unbeaten as my favourite. The weather forecast had been poor, and indeed was leaving Cornwall however crossing through Devon the sun began to appear and beat down on this final HST from Cornwall to London.

At lunchtime before all the crowds arrived 43185 in vinyled 'Intercity Swallow' livery rests at Paddington.

43188 at Paddington ready to depart with the 13:00 to Bristol Temple Meads

We left our first HST at Reading, some delicate planning having taken place that should allow travel on each of the four sets performing on the day. Sure enough, as 43098 was departing, 43185 in it's distinctive InterCity 'Swallow' branding was rolling into the adjacent platform with the 09:29 Swansea - Paddington. This was enjoyed into Paddington where there was time for some photos of the IC powercar under the roof before getting back onto our first set with 43188 now leading on the 13:00 Paddington - Bristol Temple Meads. Here we met some friends and the process of enjoying, and drinking dry, the buffet cars began! By Bristol the buffet was out of cider, prosecco and perhaps wine too! The buffet steward making attempts to over-stock for the return journey must have been disappointed when his customers then disappeared onto a local train across to Cardiff!

43042 and 43097 prove that all is not lost at Newport with a
short 'Castle' working with classic coaches.

The trip through the Severn Tunnel allowed us to be in position for 43002 to lead us back into London partnered with 43198 on the 14:29 Swansea - Paddington, the last HST from South Wales to London. Despite some earlier troubles with 43002 which had seen it shut down for much of the outbound run the 1st built power car ran well for the fast run back down the Great Western, certainly clocking it's top speed of 125mph if various phone GPS trackers were to be believed!

Our arrival at Paddington put is in third position in the well organised line up of the last four trains in platforms 1-4. I was somehow not prepared for quite how popular these trains were or how well patronised this final line up would be - literally hundreds, if not a thousand people had turned up at Paddington wielding cameras to record the historic event. The atmosphere was brilliant with all the enthusiasts and staff displaying all the right attitudes and responsibility paying attention to the rules so that everyone could enjoy the event - though many can't have got anywhere near enough the trains to get decent photographs!

43002 'Sir Kenneth Grange' arrives into Newport with the 14:29 - the last service HST from South Wales to London.

43002 and 43185 together on the blocks at Paddington.

The final run, the 18:30 Paddington - Taunton had been advertised as a reservation only service leaving all those without seats three other options for their final GWR HST fix; the 18:03 to Plymouth, 18:15 to Cheltenham or 18:22 to Hereford. Our chariot was to be 43162 and 43172 with the Cheltenham run, our final of the four sets, which was taken just to Reading (it had already been a long day!) from where the final two HST's were watched passing, before the sad reality that it was actually over finally started to dawn while on board an Intercity Express Train back to London. It just wasn't the same!

A huge number of enthusiasts gathered at Paddington in the poor weather
conditions to witness the last HST arrivals and departures.

Thanks to all those who made the day very special in the end- particularly GWR who really didn't have to organise anything, but actually pulled all the stops out to make quite an event of the day. My only suggestion to improve the offering would be to offer enthusiasts some sort or 'Day Rover' ticket enabling the various trains to be covered. It does become rather expensive otherwise!

The final GWR HST! 43198 leas the 18:30 Paddington -
Plymouth away from Reading bringing down 43 years of HST
Intercity services on the Great Western Mainline.

Of course this isn't the end of HST's just yet. With the exception of a railtour which followed on 1st June the trains will no longer work into Paddington; however GWR is keeping eleven shortened 'Castle' sets to work local traffic between Cornwall, Devon and South Wales. These will be refurbished with retention toilets and slide-plug automatic doors. Elsewhere while HST's are imminently about to start beind displaced on the ECML by LNER and their replacement on the Midland Mainline seems inevitable the sets used by Cross Country are being refurbished, and a large number of sets are beginning to enjoy a second life working Inter7City services for Scotrail. They may not pass the Dawlish sea wall but the HST is far from dead yet!

The line up from the end of the platforms at Paddington: 43188, 43162, 43009 and 43198 wait their final departures.

Great Western HST run down

43188 'Y Cymro / The Welshman' in GWR's attractive green livery with cast plates pauses at Reading with a London service. Reading today bears little resemblance to the station which HST's called at for most of their careers.

It is now over a year since the first class 800 of the Intercity Express Program rolled out on Great Western Railway. Since then the number of diagrams has been steadily increasing with all routes now served by the IEP's of class 800 and 802. Finally it now feels as though the complete replacement of the HST fleet on GWR High Speed services is drawing close. At the dawn of 2019 only 13 weekday diagrams remained for HST's with all remaining sets based at Bristol St Phillips Marsh or Plymouth Laira; the long established HST depots at Swansea Landore and London's Old Oak Common now being closed.

43070 stands at the semaphores at Worcester Shrub Hill

It is still possible to find HST's on virtually all of their previous routes, but now in vastly reduced numbers. I decided to catch up with one such working on 8th January taking 43070 and 43156 for a run on the Cotswold line with one of the last booked duties on this route, the 13:22 Paddington - Worcester Foregate Street and 15:51 return. Boarding the train at Reading there is a now rare flurry of HST activity with three sets in the space of around 20 minutes (gone are the days where this was simply the norm) including a pair of green power cars heading into Paddington. My train arrives sets off towards Oxford, taking the left hand spur at Wolvercote Jcn and onto the single line of the Cotswold Line. It seems slightly surreal trundling down this route at speeds far lower than the 125mph which the HST was designed for calling at small stations with platforms far shorter than the train. The centre section of the route is now double tracked and we pass several IEP's heading towards London- 'I will be sad to see them go' the guard tells me; she has been working HST's for more than 10 years and remarks that the 'lovely trains' are as old as she is. The new stock we agree is progress, but it just won't be quite the same.

43153 stands at Worcester Shrub Hill before completing the journey around
the corner to terminate at Worcester Foregate St.

As we approach Worcester the line once again singles and soon the Bristol - Birmingham line is crossed before we approach Worcester Shrub Hill. Another relic of the a bygone age of railways is here in abundance with semaphore signals controlled by manual signalboxes - re-signalling seems to have forgotten Worcester and even today there are no concrete plans to replace the semaphores with a more modern system.
After a pause of some 10 minutes the HST continues around the corner for the last couple of minutes of the journey into Worcester Foregate St. While some GWR services continue to Hereford this is the end of the line for the 13:22. As darkness begins to fall it is time for the driver to change ends and the HST to head back towards London.
With their days numbered how many more HST's will make it to Worcester?

South Wales Mainline

Now off-lease 43175 leads a Swansea - Cardiff HST for Great Western Railway through Undy - 07/09/2018

70810 has recently emerged from the Severn Tunnel with the Moorswater -
Aberthaw cement working- 07/09/2018

The South Wales Mainline is one of those places I had thought about coming to for years- Back in the mid-noughties when I was coming to sample rugby specials to Cardiff, and or course the 37's on the Rhymney valley it always looked as though there were some good spots with a good variety of traffic. Like so many things though the distance just meant it never happened. By 2018 the views should all have been impossible as the Great Western electrification program would have brought poles and wires to all of the classic locations. Of course we all know now how late that project has run, and amazingly while travelling up to a wedding in Wales in September 2018 my opportunity finally came to check out a couple of the spots.

Arriva Trains Wales 158822 heads west at Magor - 07/09/2018

Traffic has changed somewhat from when I first eyed up these locations more than 10 years ago. EWS has gone through several incarnations and is now DB Cargo- it's class 60's which were once common in South Wales now number only a few examples and oil traffic between Roberston and Westerleigh is now the only reliable traffic to feature the class. Colas Rail has also entered the scene with a regular flow of cement between Aberthaw and Moorswater- usually handled by it's class 70 locomotives. In freight terms one of the most notable losses of traffic is coal- some traffic still exists in South Wales, but as with most of the UK the traffic has declined to only a tiny percentage of what existed only a few years ago.

Still a good bet for a class 60 - the Westrleigh - Robeston empty tanks is in the hands of 60091 at Undy. 07/09/2018

The face of the future - GWR IEP 800020 'Elizabeth Ralph' speeds towards
Newport and Cardiff. These trains will make full use of the electrification
once works are finally completed sometime in 2019. - 07/09/2018

On the passenger front the most notable change is the almost elimination of the HST fleet over the last 12 months as the much delayed InterCity Express trains have finally started to be deployed in large numbers on their former Great Western routes. At the time of this trip only a handful of HST's reached Cardiff - My joy at capturing one of them in full sun conditions felt quite strange given these trains were two-a-penny just a few months earlier! Further changes will be evident in the passenger fleet in the coming years as Transport for Wales have now taken on what was previously the Arriva Trains Wales franchise- promising a new livery and many new trains.

43018 leads only the second HST in a long stint on the South Wales Mainline.
Sadly not a complete set in the new GWR Green. The location at Magor is
still free from OHLE equipment- but for how much longer? 07/09/2018

As can be seen from the photos electrification is continuing here, and it is only a matter of time until many of these photo spots are lost for ever- however there are still some clear views, and with electrification of the South Wales Mainline now not expected to be completed until the second half of 2019 there may be a little bit of time left still - but you will have to be quick!

Our Last Summer - HST's on the Devon Seawall

To commemorate the role played by the HST GWR have re-liveried two examples into past liveries, 43002 seen here skirting the sea wall at Teignmouth being named 'Sir Kenneth Grange' after the train's designer wears the original 'Flying Banana' Blue/Grey livery while 43185 has been adorned with the 'InterCity Swallow' scheme. 43002 is seen here leading the 07:27 London Paddington - Plymouth on a fine 5th May 2018.

43091 brings up the rear of a London bound HST lead by 43133 heading
along the seawall at Teignmouth towards Dawlish and Exeter. 5/5/2018

The InterCity 125 entered squadron service in 1976, and while it upset many rail fans at the time by displacing older loco classes the trains have become a classic in their own right. For over 40 years these trains have connected the major cities of the UK in comfort and style. Widely acclaimed with rescuing BR's long distance services the HST (High Speed Train) has been at the front line of InterCity passenger travel ever since, regularly attaining it's top design speed of 125mph.

43180 leads its HST towards Teignmouth with a service to the west country.
43144 is on the rear of the train which has just emerged from Parsons tunnel.

Officially the class 43 powercar is still the worlds fastest diesel train having attained a record speed of 148mph under test conditions. In 2018 however a large proportion of the front line HST duties will be relinquished to the new InterCityExpress trains being built by Hitachi. Class 800's have already taken many of the HST's duties out of London Paddington with deliveries continuing. ECML duties will commence with IEP later this year while the West Country routes to Devon and Cornwall have already seen testing with a class 802 IEP, which will be provided with larger diesel engines to cope with the challenging Devon banks on this route.

One of the 'classic' views, from the footbridge on the Dawlish sea wall- 43024 leads 43005 heading West. 5/5/2018

One of the Green GWR liveried power cars, 43041 leads
43086 with a London bound service. The town of Dawlish can
be seen in the background, including the section of sea wall
destroyed by storms in 2004 which severed Cornwall from
the national network for many weeks. 5/5/2018

2018 therefore is the swansong of the HST on many of the routes it has been familiar with over the last 40 years. One of the most spectacular of these railways is undoubtedly the South Devon Mainline between Exeter and Newton Abbot where Brunels railway skirts the Exe Estuary before running along the Atlantic Coast sea wall at Dawlish and Teignmouth before once again turning inland and following the estuary of the River Teign up to Newton Abbot. This is was a challenging section of railway to build, and as seen in recent years is increasingly difficult to maintain.

Cross Countries 43384 leads 43301 on 1V52 from Glasgow to Paignton.

Even from it's inception the line has had difficulties- initially with the futuristic propulsion method proposed by Brunell with his 'Atmospheric Railway'- using a vacuum in a tube to power trains. The system used a series of stationary engines to pump a vacuum into a tube into which the trains connected through a leather strip. The system lasted barely a year with constant problems with the leather seal caused by the salt sea water and the railway being constantly battered by the elements. Today all that remains of the Atmospheric Railway is one of the original pumphouses at Starcross, and, of course the GWR railway alignment along the troublesome coast and up and over the steep Devon banks.

Another classic sea wall location as 43010 parts with the Atlantic at Teignmouth on the rear of the 07:27 from Paddington.

While the legacy of Brunel's South Devon Railway may be a headache for Network Rail who now must maintain it, the views it offers to passengers are simply stunning- and there is no better way to enjoy them than from an open window on an HST.

Enjoying the sea wall from a Cross Country HST. 5/5/2018

While HST's will shortly disappear from Great Western Railway InterCity services along the sea wall this is not the end altogether for these trains. 11 Short HST's with four or five coaches are being retained by GWR for local services between Cardiff and Penzance- these will be fully refurbished and fitted with automatic doors. Similarly Cross Country will retain its small fleet of five HST's which work the South West - Scotland axis. As for the displaced HST's from GWR- the majority of the fleet will be refurbished and make their way to Scotland where they will begin a new chapter in their history providing rapid and comfortable links between Scotland's largest cities.

Looking down from up above, 43092 is at the head of the 1C85 14:03 London Paddington - Penzance as it skirts the sea wall at Dawlish. 43164 was on the rear of the train. 5/5/2018

Trying New Trains

There has been an influx of new trains to the UK rails recently. Over the past few days I've had the opportunity to check out some of the latest arrivals.

GWR class 800 (IEP)-

800008 'Sir Gareth Edwards' stands at Reading with a service for London Paddington. 13/04/2018

One of the most widely anticipated (if not controversial) new trains in the UK for a number of years are those of the Hitachi Intercity Express Programme (IEP). This fleet of trains will serve as the replacement for on the the UK's most iconic and successful trains of all time the InterCity125 HST along with other long distance train sets including the InterCity225 on the East Coast Main Line. The product of a Department for Transport specification and tender the trains have come under fire from the beginning by some of the operators who would use them, this is without mentioning the massively behind schedule and over budget scheme to electrify the Great Western Mainline.

My first IEP - 800013 standing on the blocks at Paddington. 13/04/2018

The first IEP's were constructed at Hitachi's Kasaido works in Japan with the bulk of the fleet to be assembled at a new plant at Newton Aycliffe. The first passenger run of a class 800 was in October 2017 between Bristol and London- despite some initial teething problems the trains have settled down into service on the GWR and are now being used in increasing numbers allowing the ageing HST fleet to be slowly stood down. The IEP has a lot to live up to and first impressions are of a sleek modern train which really doesn't look too bad at all. It is quickly apparent that the smart Great Western Railway livery is entirely applied with vinyls as a quick glance at doorways will easily reveal the white base colour where it has not been covered. The first trains to be delivered are 5 car class 800/0's which will run in pairs to replace an 8 + 2 HST formation. This means that catering facilities will be duplicated and both passengers and staff will be unable to walk between units. The trains for GWR are now all to be delivered as Bi-Modal since for cost reasons the complex section of electrification through Bath has now been postponed. Currently IEP's run on electric between London Paddington and Reading before switching to diesel for the journey forward. My journey was on board 800013 from Reading to Paddington, on electric traction so I cannot comment on any noise or vibration from the under-floor diesel engines.

Standard class on the class 800 IEP. 13/04/2018

The interior of the train is smart if not a little plain. Certainly the colours chosen are much brighter than the GWR HST fleet. Seating is a mix of tables for 4 and airline style seating all arranged in 2+2 format in Standard class. Power points and electric seat reservation displays are fitted throughout the train. The layout appears to be an improvement over the current HST seating arrangement (though the story may have been different had First Great Western not refurbished the HST's internally so badly in order to fit in extra seats!). This said there are still a number of seats which do not align with windows at all. As has been widely reported the seats are hard. The actual shape and size of the seats is not at all bad, but there is definitely no opportunity to sink into these seats on a long distance journey! I will not comment on the First Class interior as I did not get a chance to sample it on this short journey.

The journey from Reading to London is fast and unremarkable- perhaps as a new train should be!?


TFL Rail (to become Crossrail 'Elizabeth Line') class 345- 

345009 arrives into Romford with a Shenfield - London Liverpool St service for TfL Rail. An outgoing class 315 can be seen departing from the near platform. 14/04/2018

The majority of seating on the new 345's is longitudinal. 14/04/2018

Crossrail, the multi-billion project to build a new heavy-rail route under London, is almost upon us and will open completely in 2019. In preparation for the 'Elizabeth Line' as it will be branded the route from London Liverpool St to Shenfield has been transferred to Transport for London and will be branded 'TfL Rail'. Inheriting a fleet of ageing 1980's built class 315 EMU's this route has been first to see the new Crossrail trains, built by Bombardier and branded 'Aventra'. Built in Derby the fleet are initially being delivered in 7 car formation but will be extended to their full 9 coaches at a later date once infrastructure works are complete. Entering service in June 2017 between London and Shenfield the class 315's are now being displaced from the route.

Bays of facing seats are available in several areas. 14/04/2018

The first, and most noticeable feature of the class 345 is it's front- it is not yellow! For decades it has been compulsory for British main line stock to carry a yellow warning panel, however this rule has now been relaxed (the intensity of modern railway headlights deeming it unnecessary). The class 345 is the first train to appear without the warning panel and instead has a black front- it certainly takes some getting used to! The front end design differs significantly from artists impressions as it was amended by various stakeholders during the design phase of the cab. The AC EMU's feature 3 sets of doors per carriage for easy loading and full width gangways throughout for easy circulation through the interior space. As would be expected of any new train today the sets are fully air conditioned and are finished in a light and airy style with a purple moquette mirroring the 'Elizabeth Line' branding. Seating is a mix of longitudinal and 2+2 facing seating in some small areas. Grab rails and handles are provided in many locations for the large number of standees that these trains are expected to carry. On initially boarding 345015 at Liverpool Street the train was lightly loaded and appeared very spacious, however by Stratford a large number of passengers boarded and already all of the seats were taken (mid afternoon on a Saturday). The loss of seats when compared to the outgoing class 345's is significant with many passengers now required to stand for their journey that would have been seated before. The result is a claustrophobic feel to the train with any view out of the opposite window from the longitudinal seating blocked by people! As we have come to expect by now seat cushions were hard, but not uncomfortable.

By removing seats and adding grab-rails the standing
capacity of the class 345 is increased. 14/04/2018

Overall my view of the class 345 is a positive one, good news as a large number of 'Aventra's' have now been ordered by several other operators. It was however good to get back on a class 315 (never thought I'd say it) and at least be guaranteed a seat!

Class 345 trains are now testing on the Western part of the 'Elizabeth Line' to Reading and will being running through the Crossrail tunnels under central London from December 2018. Full Shenfield - Reading services will commence in 2019.