Atomic Systems

For anyone interested. The 2004 Year in Pictures DVD of the CTRL's construction is available from the Visitors Centre or by contacting Carole Winters on the CTRL website (http://www.ctrl.co.uk).

However while watching this DVD there are a numbe rof points where computer animation is used to show the final look of the stations and route through London (section 2). In this animation (which I must say looks pants compared to my representation ) you'd think the Eurostar would feature heavily, being the sole user/operator of the line for the foreseeable future. Yet instead, there are no eurostars / Class 373 trains in sight! The animaiton is full of TGV's! Rather odd!

Being such a high profile project, you'd think Eurostar would be lapping up all chances to show off that it will be the sole operator of the route, so why all the TGV's and no 373's?

Know anything Basildd?

You're just inviting someone to rant about platforms that can accomodate TGV's with this...

Thats a good point actually, although the St Pancras Station platforms are built to UK standard (unless they are going to have different heights for the different parts of the station). Using a train that doesnt fit the line to advertise it. This animation sequence gets weirder by the minute

Do you have to step up about half a foot or so to get into the door of a Eurostar or is it at Platform level?

Remember that it would make sense for the platforms to be at the same height as the door step to comply with RVAR and DDA regulations.

Regards

Dan

Eurostars have steps folded away underneath the train that fall out when it stops at a platform in France or Brussels.

There's a picture at the bottom of this page.

Eurostars have steps folded away underneath the train that fall out when it stops at a platform in France or Brussels

i hate the EU platforms.
In Brussels there is a curve, and not even the steps can help.

Elojikal wrote:Eurostars have steps folded away underneath the train that fall out when it stops at a platform in France or Brussels.

There's a picture at the bottom of this page.

I hope the train doesn't forget where it is and folds them down at Waterloo by mistake or there might be a bit of a crunch.

I think the driver operates wheter the steps go down..??

1288gaje wrote:i hate the EU platforms.
In Brussels there is a curve, and not even the steps can help.

Ever tried leaping from a Desiro onto Clapham junction? How the hell people cope with that one I dont know!

It used to be that whenever the pantograph was up, the steps would automatically come down when the doors opened. And when the third rail shoe was down they wouldn't. It's a bit more complicated now, though, as Ashford is on overhead, but there are still localised settings for which country the Eurostar is in, like this sort of thing, and pantograph heights, and they all get changed together.

Erm, St Pancras International (as opposed to Domestic or MML) is being built to full UIC loading gauge, resulting in platforms little different to those at Lille Europe and other stations which happily accomodate both 373s and TGVs. The one 'International' platform incorporated into the Interim station has a false deck taking it up to UK height, until MML moves over to their final 'station'. As for the Domestic platforms - no point, you won't be catching a Shinkansen further than Folkestone (even though there is room to build a chord to route the Dovers via Canterbury). St Pancras will also be an oddity in the UK, as it will have KVB (SNCF Automatic Train Protection) in the station area, thereby allowing TGVs to operate. TVM430 is unsuitable for the low-speed approach to the station.

xfo10 wrote:

1288gaje wrote:i hate the EU platforms.
In Brussels there is a curve, and not even the steps can help.

Ever tried leaping from a Desiro onto Clapham junction? How the hell people cope with that one I dont know!

Same story...
Try leaping from an Electrostar at the Northern end of Platform 13!!!
OR platform 17,how people could cope when there are no steps from the Electrostar.....

mattvince - Hitachi are working on a solution to the problem of evacuating a train with no end doors when it is stuck in Shakespeare Tunnel with a view to allowing the CTRL domestic stock to operate to Dover.

Hopefully the deal for these trains should be signed next week, if the depot situation is resolved.

Regards

Dan

Thalys TGV set's are fitted with a drop steps similar to the ones the eurostars have, no need for them in Brussel's where i changed for a intecontinental to amsterdam which was the same year the Thalys's were testing amsterdam station out.

That's probably the PBKA sets. Dunno why they'd have them though that's still odd.