northwichcat
Veteran Member
All modern trains seem to be extraordinarily heavy, which seems ironic to me in view of fuel costs and Carbon emissions. Is it because of EU Legislation or something, or is it just that designers don't seem to think that impact on track and energy consumption is anything really to be too worried about?
If we take 4 classes of 100mph DMUs since BR: 170, 172, 175 and 185 - the 170 meets Sprinter requirements for line speeds but has poor acceleration, the 175s are heavier but have better acceleration and the 185s are even heavier.
The 172s are lighter than the 170s and have better acceleration, so it looks like it's taken 20 years to develop a 100mph DMU which doesn't have operating advantages over the Sprinter, which is why I said I don't think we can produce a 125mph Sprinter equivalent.