Posted 14th February 2023 | 3 Comments

First test run for Voyagers’ replacement

Test run ++ The bi-mode replacement for Avanti West Coast’s diesel Voyager fleet has made its first test run between Wolverhampton and Glasgow. The Class 805 is a new variant of Hitachi’s established A-Train series, and will replace the Bombardier Class 221s on routes between London, Shrewsbury, Crewe, Chester and Holyhead. The 805’s trial journey covered 901km from Oxley depot in Wolverhampton to Glasgow Central and back.

Transport appeal ++ A coalition of 15 charities, business and transport groups has written to Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, urging him to ‘show public transport some love’ by protecting and investing in trains and other public transport in the forthcoming Budget on 15 March. The letter, which has been signed by Bus Users UK, the Campaign for Better Transport, the Clean Cities Campaign, Client Earth, rural England charity CPRE, Cycling UK, Greener Vision, Greenpeace UK, the Institute for Public Policy Research, the Intergenerational Foundation, Living Streets, the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Possible, the Transport Action Network and the Urban Transport Group, calls on the Chancellor to protect passengers from the funding squeeze and the cost-of-living crisis that they fear is threatening public transport.

Preston closed ++ Trains will not be calling at Preston over four weekends so that Network Rail can upgrade track on the West Coast Main Line. NR said it would be investing £1.5 million in upgrading track foundations and six sets of points and crossings. The closure dates are 18-19 and 25-26 February, followed by 4,5 and 12 March. Passengers using the West Coast Main Line elsewhere on these dates are being warned that fewer trains will be running, journeys will take longer and those trains which do run are expected to be busy. More information will be available on www.nationarail.co.uk.

Transpennine progress ++ Morley station between Leeds and Huddersfield has reopened after a nine-day possession, while engineers laid the foundations for longer platforms, realigned the track and completed work on drainage. The old station is set to be demolished in June and a new station will open later this year. The project is part of the Transpennine Route Upgrade.

Reader Comments:

Views expressed in submitted comments are that of the author, and not necessarily shared by Railnews.

  • david C Smith, Bletchley

    I agree so much with the Editor's footnote to my initial comment here ; the franchising project was indeed a bit of a "dogs' dinner", if for no other reason that it had a total inability to adapt to unexpected circumstances. The phrase "pretend capitalism " was colned by a prominent rail commentator to describe it.

  • david C Smith, Bletchley

    A good idea ; firstly , to get more work out of non - life expired assetts ( a great pity that most HST power cars were apparently recently reengined and then lined up for scrapping , it seems , as example of wasting resources ). Also, to "beef up" the services on the Cross Country routes ; my wife and I have had to endure XC Voyagers with insufficient seating and broken refreshment facilities too many times. Is there any good reason why these trains could not have had an extra coach inserted into consist ?

    A lot of this type of problem arises, I believe, from too many TOCs having monopoly positions, with no other TOC or rival roadcoach or aviation to compete with them. So , we potential passengers endure it . If competition isn't feasible, then how to incentivise the TOC to respond to our needs ? Or is it perhaps that DfT have , via their ever growing "command and control" forbidden permission for such improvements ?

    [The reason for not strengthening Voyagers would have been that the franchise agreement would have specified the rolling stock, so the operator cannot take the decision on its own to acquire additional vehicles. By the time new vehicles had arrived, the franchise would have been half over. Meanwhile, the DfT would have needed a business case for increasing the costs risk. That was the delight of franchising -- all the disadvantages of state control and very few advantages of 'free' enterprise.--Ed.]

  • Andrew Gwilt, Benfleet Essex

    The Avanti West Coast Class 221 that is to be replaced by the Class 805 IET could end up going to Crosscountry if they do want more extra rolling stocks for long distance routes.