Couple things.And yet Hull will operate a HST that Transpennine could have put to good use carrying sardines.
Hull Trains owner First Group rules-out lending the city's 'struggling' rail company a new train
Emma Hardy MP says an extra train could ease Hull Trains' recent reliability issues
The owner of Hull Trains has refused a call for bosses to loan the city's "struggling" rail company a new train which is going spare elsewhere in the country.
First Group, Hull Trains’s parent company, has ordered 19 new trains for its TransPennine Express (TPE) franchise, with the first arriving in June, but only five of the vehicles will be put into immediate use.
Given the Class 802 Hitachi bi-mode trains being rolled-out across the Pennines will be almost identical to Hull Trains’ incoming rolling stock – set to start being introduced at the end of the year – Hull MP Emma Hardy had called on First bosses to lend the city’s beleaguered service an additional set of carriages.
But First has declined the request, saying not all TPE’s 19 trains will arrive in June and that any locomotives not in use will be utilised for staff training purposes.
A First spokesman said Hull Trains’ recent acquisition of an InterCity 125 train – a model that is at least 15 years older than the current four Class 180 trains serving Hull – will “provide further resilience to the fleet and help improve reliability” on the east coast route.
Hull Trains secured the InterCity 125, due to enter service shortly, from Great Western Railway – another First Group-owned franchise operating in the South West of England.
It is hoped the high-speed 125 will reverse Hull Trains’ recent performance woes, having lost £2m in profits during its “worst ever year”. Over the past 12 months, the open access operator has been forced to cancel services, implement an emergency timetable and even transport passengers entirely by coach after all four of its trains, which are 20 years old, were taken out of action in October.
Ms Hardy, MP for Hull West and Hessle, wrote to ministers last month calling for the Government to put “pressure” on First Group to loan one of its incoming Class 802s to Hull Trainsto help get the city’s rail service back on track.
After putting the suggestion to Rail Minister Andrew Jones in the House of Commons, the Labour politician wrote to him on January 11.
She said: “TransPennine Express, who are also owned by FirstGroup, are scheduled to receive 19 new Hitachi 802 bimodal trains in June but have made it clear that they only require five trains at that point. The rest are only needed by TPE for the December timetable.
“Hull Trains, meanwhile, is not scheduled to receive their new trains until November and they are really struggling to provide a reliable service with the trains they currently have.
“If Hull Trains were able to have just one of the remaining 14 trains scheduled for delivery to TPE in June then this would be extremely helpful to the company and in providing a reliable service to the people of Hull.”
The minister has yet to reply but Department for Transport sources said the matter was one for First to consider.
First Group, replying on Hull Trains’ behalf, said it would not be entertaining the train loan proposal.
A spokesman for the multi-national transport giant said: “The management team at Hull Trains continues to work hard to look at all possible options for introducing additional capacity onto the route.
Hull Trains have secured an additional train from this month which will provide further resilience to the fleet, and this will help to improve reliability for customers. Later in the year, the company’s brand new trains will begin service, representing a £60m investment.”
By
Patrick Daly
https://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/news/hull-east-yorkshire-news/hull-trains-owner-first-group-2524964
And yet Hull will operate a HST that Transpennine could have put to good use carrying sardines.
Perhaps it is all they need so that all services which 802s can run are either 802s or doubled up 185sThis quote peaked my interest from the MP “TransPennine Express, who are also owned by FirstGroup, are scheduled to receive 19 new Hitachi 802 bimodal trains in June but have made it clear that they only require five trains at that point. The rest are only needed by TPE for the December timetable." Why do they only need 5 trains at that point? Is it an acceptance agreement or a timetabling thing?
Both, I imagine: The full timetable of Liverpool - Edinburgh services that require the 802s in service is only due to commence in December, and the lease for the 802s is only stipulated to commence on 29th August this year in the franchise agreement (Almost two years after the lease of the mark 5s was due to start).Why do they only need 5 trains at that point? Is it an acceptance agreement or a timetabling thing?
The May timetable also has the following ECS workings:There is a diagram pencilled in for may sees a unit travel down from Edinburgh to Liverpool via York as 9M05 following the Scotsman, returns to newcastle, then back to Liverpool and back to Edinburgh via York. Services at craigentinny overnight. It looks like it will be a self contained diagram for Newcastle and Liverpool crews and could be one of the first to drop a 185 in favour of an 802. Newcastle drivers are route learning ECML and craigentinny but Newcastle conductors haven't yet started. Glasgow crews already sign ECML to Newcastle but the diagram makes more sense to be a Newcastle night shift rather than have two separate Glasgow crews to work one way and pass back the other
1. HT never had any long-term plan to operate an HST, and the operation was only made possible by virtue of LNER using them over the ECML already. AFAIK, they aren't cleared to run from Leeds to Huddersfield, and beyond to Man Vic & Liverpool - certainly not in recent history.
There is regular HST operation on the Leeds-Huddersfield-Piccadilly Transpennine Core, in the form of four-weekly runs by the Network Rail NMT. East Midlands Trains HSTs have operated to Lime St via Piccadilly and the Cheshire Lines relatively recently (2015, if not more recently than that).
There is a diagram pencilled in for may sees a unit travel down from Edinburgh to Liverpool via York as 9M05 following the Scotsman, returns to newcastle, then back to Liverpool and back to Edinburgh via York. Services at craigentinny overnight. It looks like it will be a self contained diagram for Newcastle and Liverpool crews and could be one of the first to drop a 185 in favour of an 802. Newcastle drivers are route learning ECML and craigentinny but Newcastle conductors haven't yet started. Glasgow crews already sign ECML to Newcastle but the diagram makes more sense to be a Newcastle night shift rather than have two separate Glasgow crews to work one way and pass back the other
There is regular HST operation on the Leeds-Huddersfield-Piccadilly Transpennine Core, in the form of four-weekly runs by the Network Rail NMT. East Midlands Trains HSTs have operated to Lime St via Piccadilly and the Cheshire Lines relatively recently (2015, if not more recently than that).
I stand corrected. Perhaps it's just reluctance in TPE's Management to train crews up on it - they're short on crew enough as it is with training for the existing stock.Further to this, NESA confirms that 43s and Mk3s are cleared for the usual TPE Manchester-Liverpool route via Chat Moss.
Or that they are rightly prioritising the introduction of the new fleets - which takes a substantial amount of training - rather than distracting efforts by introducing another traction type for short-term use.I stand corrected. Perhaps it's just reluctance in TPE's Management to train crews up on it - they're short on crew enough as it is with training for the existing stock.
The May timetable also has the following ECS workings:
1133 and 1536 Edinburgh to Newcastle
1629 and 1929 Newcastle to Edinburgh.
Are these likely to be for crew route/traction learning?
there are new Newcastle conductors in school at the moment who should be route learning soon which will free up existing conductors to start route learning
The guard compliment is increasing?Probably, there are new Newcastle conductors in school at the moment who should be route learning soon which will free up existing conductors to start route learning, although we have just lost two conductors for driver training the depot establishment is increasing to cover Scottish work. There hasn't yet been any movement as to when conductors are starting route learning even thought the SDIs have started route training their drivers at Newcastle. York crews in what we call the Hitachi link may well also be learning Edinburgh, Liverpool crews won't be going further than Newcastle as it's too far to be out and back within a day shift.
Won't be FL drivers much longer it will be TPE drivers once Glasgow depot gets fully opened and it will be down to York and not NewcastleThe current Glasgow guards also presently do WCML down to Manchester Airport, I'm guessing Newcastle guards will do the first ones north and last ones South, with a few daytime returns mixed in.
Glasgow (FL) drivers also presently do WCML to Carlisle and Preston, and will also do ECML to Newcastle, again mixed with Newcastle drivers heading north .
If that were happening then I would put myself up voluntarily.That desperate for staff that they're having to poach children from the local secondary school?!
Only if resolved within 12 months.As reported on the LNER 800s thread, ORR have given the go ahead for the cabling issue. Much action with the TPE 802s lately?
I have seen a HST running between Huddersfield and Leeds last month, albeit it was the flying banana. Saw it at MirfieldCouple things.
1. HT never had any long-term plan to operate an HST, and the operation was only made possible by virtue of LNER using them over the ECML already. AFAIK, they aren't cleared to run from Leeds to Huddersfield, and beyond to Man Vic & Liverpool - certainly not in recent history.
2. Guards would have had to be trained to operate the Mk3 stock, and given how much of a farce the Mk3a training with the ex-Pretendolino set was, I think TPE wanted to keep them as far away from their staff as possible.
The railway isn't as simple as we'd like it to be, but that's life.
Really makes you realise how short a pacer is. A 2 car isn’t much longer than one 80x carriage.https://twitter.com/joecameraman/status/1104042393567924227?s=20
Link to a tweet of the new train along the Humber
Couple things.
1. HT never had any long-term plan to operate an HST, and the operation was only made possible by virtue of LNER using them over the ECML already. AFAIK, they aren't cleared to run from Leeds to Huddersfield, and beyond to Man Vic & Liverpool - certainly not in recent history.
2. Guards would have had to be trained to operate the Mk3 stock, and given how much of a farce the Mk3a training with the ex-Pretendolino set was, I think TPE wanted to keep them as far away from their staff as possible.
The railway isn't as simple as we'd like it to be, but that's life.