Sam’s Rant – Train Travel 03/05/2013

This past friday was almost like any day for someone who attends University in Preston while living in Lancaster. I went to Lancaster train station to get my train to Preston and was once again hoping to get a seat for two reasons. Firstly it is nice to sit down, and secondly; I prefer to read sitting down, that way I can read some more of The Spook’s Curse. However it was a First TransPennine Express train which meant that there was only a vague chance of getting a seat. In the end I did not get one and had to stand up all the way, which brought up a very interesting question; if FirstGroup can afford to bid for the West Coast Main Line, why can’t they afford to put an extra carriage on their Manchester Airport trains? It’s a popular service and everyone has to stand so surely they could do the decent thing and add some more seats for the comfort of their passengers.

Anyway later in the day, on my way home, things got a lot worse. After getting my lunch from McDonalds I went to Preston Train Station and arrived just after 4:10pm, and as usual, there are millions of trains going south but hardly any going North. I think there must be some kind of portal that links London and Glasgow/Edinburgh so that once a train has arrived at Euston Train Station, it goes straight forward into the portal and immediately arrives in Glasgow/Edinburgh. Anyway because of the lack of trains going North I had to wait about half an hour for a train. So I ate my McDonald’s and did something that I enjoy while waiting for a train at Preston Train Station, head to the end of the platform that points towards London and watch the trains come in, it’s both relaxing and fun.

Eventually I saw the Pendolino arrive and boarded the train (through the first class section). Usually the Glasgow Central trains usually wait some time before leaving, but this one waited a while. After about 10 minutes or so, an intercom came on stating that the train was going to be delayed for about 15 minutes. So I get off and wait on the opposite platform for another train, which came while being about 1 minute delayed. I boarded the train (this time a Virgin Super Voyager) and got a seat, hurray. I had a little sleep before waking up and realised that the train was still in the station, Preston Train Station. There was an announcement stating that there was a train heading North towards Lancaster on another platform; but I was comfortable and so I stayed where I was. Then the announcement came the train was going to be 20 minutes delayed. So I got off and went to the other train, the one from earlier, which was still in the station and decided to wait for further information because the trains did not show a departure time, instead they just showed the word “DELAYED”.

Eventually I ran into my University friend Daniel who was having similar train problems as he too was wanting to go to Lancaster. Eventually, without word from the station, the first delayed train left Preston, without neither Me or Daniel on it. Now that is just unfair, several people were needing to go home and the station did not tell us when the train was leaving. So in response to this, we both boarded the second delayed train and waited, standing up for about 20 minutes plus, the reason behind the delay was apparently the train had no driver, which raises the question, how did it get to Preston in the first place?

So after 20 minutes or so and after the corridor had become packed with several people, another train going in the direction of Lancaster arrived and we did consider going on it, but in the end we stayed on the train that we were currently on which was now 1 hour and 10 minutes delayed. And then at about 6:00pm, the train moved and left Preston; HURRAY. After about 15 minutes of travel we finally arrived in Lancaster at about 6:15pm; 2 Hours and 5 Minutes after arriving at Preston Train Station in the first place. So home at last after a long (ANNOYING) journey. Then I walked home and on the way some bloke walked up to me and asked if I had any weed, to which my answer was “NO”.

GENEPOOL

Virgin VS FirstGroup: The Real Issue

There have been many recent reports in the news recently about the controversy behind the Government’s decision to hand the West Coast Mainline franchise over to FirstGroup instead of extending Virgin’s current rights for another 15 years. Out of all the big news recently regarding the country, this is probably the biggest and possibly the most controversial. But what people are forgetting is that a train operator is not a train operator without trains. So I thought I would share my opinion on what First West Coast (or possibly Horizon Trains) trains might be like if they do get the WCML.

Currently the only First service on the line at present is First TransPennine Express. So if we were to use that as a bench mark of this it is pretty clear what the service could be like. Transpennine’s dominant model is the British Rail Class 185 (Pennine Desiro). The train is more of a commuter vehicle to a HST (High Speed Train) set and as such is shorter than a Pendolino carriage by about 2 meters. Due to its purpose it can get away with its size but quite a lot of the time the trains are crowded. The trains carry fewer seats than the Pendolino but this could be due to the doors being around the center of the carriage. The Desiro train set as a whole is 3 carriages long and has a top speed of 100 mph.

While the Desiro is better than several other Commuter Diesel Trains it is not a good choice for the WCML. The WCML is an electrified line and because of this HST sets do very well on the circuit because the constant flow of electricity means that they are always connected to the mains and as long as both the engines and power allow it, they can travel at great speeds. Diesel trains can go really fast but because of the amount of fuel needed for them, in a way it is not ideal. But anyway let’s take the Desiro, now First has promised 11 new Six Car trains. Desiro’s already operate like that with some services but quite a lot of the time they split and go to different locations. Six car Desiro’s are feasible but due to their size (inside) the First Class compartment will have to be ripped out in order for normal customers to have a seat. However the space is still not enough because people will still have to stand in an overcrowded train (and it is more than probable that people will not want to stand on a train from Glasgow to London), so it is more than likely that within a year the 6 car trains will have to be extended to 10 car trains. Also there will be a loss in money from no First Class which takes up four Pendolino carriages and so to make this back the trains will have to have an extra 4 carriages added to allow this (14 carriages in total – minimum). This in turn causes 2 further problems:

1. The train will be so long it will probably not fit on the station platform so people will have to get on the train and walk to their seat on a carriage that cannot be accessed, it will be much the same for getting off.
2. The train’s power source of diesel will cost so much it may not be economical enough to make a decent return on investment.

So if First West Coast wants to use the line, the Desiro Class is (or should be) out of the question. To make the best use of the line the company needs to have a HST set to run on it. That should be a clause in the contract in my opinion which makes the use of HST sets compulsory for the WCML and ECML. When it comes to HST sets there are several options but when it comes down to it, electrified HST should be used because it’s the obvious answer. Now it is still possible to use Fast Diesel trains on the WCML. If it was to be a diesel choice there are 4 main options and these trains should prevent overcrowding due to their design:

1. British Rail Class 220 Voyager – Used by Virgin and Cross Country – Top Speed: 125 mph – Seat Capacity: 174 (20 more than the Desiro) – 4 cars per trainset.
2. British Rail Class 221 Super Voyager – Used by Virgin and Cross Country – Top Speed: 125 mph – Seat Capacity: 162 to 224 – 4 to 5 cars per trainset.
3. British Rail Class 222 Meridian – Used by East Midlands Trains – Top Speed: 125 mph – Seat Capacity: 192 – 236 – 4 to 7 cars per trainset.
4. British Rail Class 180 Adelante – Used by First Great Western, First Hull Trains and Grand Central – Top Speed: 125 mph – Seat Capacity: 287 Seats – 5 cars per trainset.

There is of course the possibility of using British Rail Class 43 HST  Engine which is used for the Legendary Intercity 125 (Top Speed: 148 mph). The Class 43 is used by many companies today including East Midlands Trains and Grand Central and is used mainly as a High Speed Train rather than a commuter train. In the case of First if they were to use diesel instead of electricity, it would be an ideal choice (but the Intercity 125 is starting to age and has been for a while). However the 43 cannot reach its top speed due to the speed limit of the WCML being 125 mph. However it is more likely to reach this speed quicker than the above mentioned due to that being the top speed of those trains.

If Virgin is to keep the line it is more than likely that they will continue to use the Pendolinos. Virgin spent at least 1 billion pounds on the Pendolinos and so it would seem likely that they will keep using them for a while. The Pendolino while being slower than the Class 43 has the added advantage of being able to tilt which means that it does not have to cut its speed when going round a corner so when it reaches its top speed it can stay at that speed until it has to slow down for stations. Without Virgin and the entrepreneurial mind of Richard Branson the Pendolinos would probably not be in the country, thankfully they are. There is no real current challenge to the Pendolino. The only one announced so far is the Polaris Train which Grand Central hope to acquire (which also has Tilting capability) but there has still be no news of whether these trains will be coming to the uk or not (it really depends on whether Grand Central’s “track-access contract is extended beyond the initial five years” – Wikipedia).

It is interesting to point out that First have not said anything about taking over the Pendolinos from Virgin. This could be one of the big controversies. It is a good point to think about because First bid at least 5 billion for the line (1 billion more than Virgin) then surely they have enough money to simply have them transferred over to them. The Pendolino makes the more sense seeing as that is the current system and it would be easier to change hands. Also it means that the 2 Hours 30 Minutes it takes from Lancaster to London Euston can stay at that time rather than revert (which with any other train is a possible certainty) to the previous 3 hours. In order to keep that time the line would have to have an increase in speed. Also to make the money that First are suggesting the speed will have to stay that way for more journeys and more money. Also the Pendolinos have 9 cars per trainset making them longer than most rail services in the UK.

In terms of Electrified trains that could run on the WCML instead of Pendolino’s, there is the option of using Intercity 225’s which are hauled by Class 91 Trains. Compared to the diesel-powered Class 43, the 225’s run at 140 mph which is still slower than the Class 43 but with the electrified line and top speed of 125 mph, the 225 Class 91 could be a cheaper alternative to the Pendolino if First decide to go for an electrified train. However the 225 does not have a tilting mechanism meaning it could be slower than the Pendolino overall.

With the possibility of FirstGroup taking over the WCML, it is a worrying time. With no current announcement on rolling stock from FirstGroup it is worrying to think about how the service may change (if at all) and also how fast and comfortable it will be to go from place to place. But we should remember that First Trains are a reliable service and so whatever the decision is regarding the franchise rights and what rolling stock they may use, I am sure (in some way but not entirely) that they will make the right decision or at least a Good Proper one. There is always the hope that they will take over the Pendolinos from Virgin but there are some other options for them to take in case they decide not to. So while we all hope that Virgin keeps the line there should not be too much distress caused if FirstGroup do take the line.

GENEPOOL