Post by Deleted on Aug 24, 2015 8:48:39 GMT
Following discussions in this thread (now locked) I can confirm that a software upgrade has been successfully tested which enables more tractive power to be drawn on modified units. This is now being rolled out across the fleet. In spite of a lot of conjecture regarding the reasons for the original power loss when 5 car 378's came in to service this was all down to an error in developing the original software. Following feedback from drivers LOROL management, far from wishing to restrict power due to supposedly high incident rates, have in fact been working to restore performance to at least that of the 4 car units.
Having now driven a couple of the modified units myself I can confirm that acceleration has significantly improved and is at least on a par with 4 car units and if anything it improved pick up on gradients over the 4 cars let alone the pre-update 5 car formations. I might add that however well intended the speculation around the reasons for the power loss, the assertion that this might have been down to professional drivers being unable to adjust their drive style to handle the power was way off the mark. My own view is that that kind of conjecture has no place on a forum unless it is fact-based. While I always knew that to be the case we were not sure exactly what the reason was for the original power loss. We do now and therefore the rapid rollout of the new software confirms the company view that restored, or even enhanced 378 acceleration is an asset to operations rather than a liability.
Having now driven a couple of the modified units myself I can confirm that acceleration has significantly improved and is at least on a par with 4 car units and if anything it improved pick up on gradients over the 4 cars let alone the pre-update 5 car formations. I might add that however well intended the speculation around the reasons for the power loss, the assertion that this might have been down to professional drivers being unable to adjust their drive style to handle the power was way off the mark. My own view is that that kind of conjecture has no place on a forum unless it is fact-based. While I always knew that to be the case we were not sure exactly what the reason was for the original power loss. We do now and therefore the rapid rollout of the new software confirms the company view that restored, or even enhanced 378 acceleration is an asset to operations rather than a liability.
