I can't help wondering who would want to use the 180s after their recent somewhat dire performance going to and from Hull.
Which might explain a leak from the teams about to have them wished upon them. A fairly large majority on here would seem likely to cast their vote for a non-compliant HST over a 180 if given the opportunity. Most members of the travelling public would probably do the same if they knew of the reliability issues.
But what else do we do with 20 year old units when we have so many units over 30 years old and likely to be in service for another 10?
It's a tricky one.
We have people on here complaining when anything is taken out of service after only forty years (and, in the case of HSTs, even when they've been in service for over forty years!), but what do we do about non-standard trains without an obvious future, that are only half way through their "natural" life?
We managed to convert most of the 460s to 458s with only a few end coaches wasted. A few centre coaches from 321s were made redundant after under thirty years and that got a bit of attention on here (for potential future uses etc).
But what do we need self powered 125mph trains for, in an age of 800/801/802s coming off the production line? All of the various "creative" threads to find uses for HSTs in the 2020s have drawn a blank (other than the planned short/medium term use on GWR/ScotRail. Ten coach 180s could work on EMT/EMR for some duties - I could see merit in running some diagrams like that from Neville Hill - St Pancras - Cricklewood (lay about in Cricklewood during the daytime and be kept away from naked flames) and then reverse in the evening.
Might as well come up with some ideas now because it'll save time for when we have identical debates about the 220/221/222s in the next year or two (once the next XC franchise decides to take advantage of getting something like 802s fairly cheap)! I'd bet that some of the people relaxed about 180s being scrapped after twenty years will be upset about 91s scrapped after thirty years though.
And, as a relatively able-bodied passenger, I'd take a "non compliant" eight coach HST over a five coach 180 most days of the week - especially given the well documented reliability problems of the Adelantes - but it's not just about people like me, it's about people who a non-compliant HST cannot fully accommodate - a non-reliable five coach 180 is still going to be better for some people than a train that they cannot get on/off. And, as ScotRail are finding out, upgrading HSTs to modern standards isn't a simple task.
(meanwhile, some 150s will still be running on 1 January 20
30 - there's a lot to be said for simple/ basic/ unfussy trains)