I was out and about across Anglia today riding Cambridge to Norwich , Ipswich to Cambridge and Ely. Also Norwich to Ipswich. Shame the Gt Yarmouth line was shut - so no 37's. A summary follows.
On a dry rail with a good 'pilot' those 90's give a fair shove in the back. But the interiors look soooooo dated. A UK Traxx loco and some new IC coaches would have been a nice replacement because the loco hauled stock does have a special feel about it. It will be missed except when it rains!!
The 170's are a pretty good unit -but today the Norwich to Cambridge service was full and almost standing. The incoming 755's with more than 3 coaches will be welcome. And if the 745/755s have the same interior feel as the Norwegian ones, then they will be a real comfy and high quality train to sit in. Those 170's are also feeling a bit tired internally.
The 2-car 170s on the Ipswich Peterboro service are again way too short in capacity. The longer bi-modes will be welcome. I guess the 755;s will accelerate well in electric mode, but not sure yet how they will fare on diesel. It will be good that the Ipswich to Cambridge/ Peterboro can use electric power from Ipswich to Haughley. And the Cambridge ones can get back on the 'juice from Ely down to Cambridge and possibly Stansted.
Seems hardly worth spending the money to be able to pan up just for the short section between browse Jn and Norwich. The 755;s can pan up In Norwich station as soon as they have landed. and then use the 'leccy' back out to Trowse.
it is a shame that the line speed limits of these secondary routes is mainly 75mph. We should be aiming for at least 90mph. The 170's are slow at getting even to 60mph on some of the steeper climbs! The bulk of both Ely to Norwich and Newmarket to Haughley is quite straight, so i guess it is block length and signalling issues rather than the trains. Also adding to the performance difficulties are single lead junctions at Haughty, Ely, plus singe track between Soham and Ely, the lack of grade separated junctions too.
does anyone know whether the 755's will be able run run at Sprinter (SP) speed limits?
But overall , i thought the secondary services on current form are quite respectable - reasonably frequent, and not too slow. I cannot wait to try the 755's s and compare. Last thought was that there should be a trolley on these trains, especially as Norwich to ely, and Ipswich to Cambridge are 1h20 journeys.