Also worth remembering that the new Aventras will be 24m so 10car is equivalent to 12car 350 hence a net gain of 122 of the current equivalent coaches not just 77 coaches.
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Class 350/1 refurbishment
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When the leases were originally entered into the interest rates were higher and borrowing was much higher risk and harder to arrange than now, hence just a reflection of market conditions at the time to an extend. (Also see the 379s for this)
I think the /2 leases also include a different (higher) maintenance level agreement so not exactly a straight comparison with the original /1 or /3 deals.
Porterbrook has also been refinancing its existing borrowing (inc bonds) over the last year or 2 as the opportunities arise hence they should be able to lease them for less inthe future and still more than cover their costs.
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Bletchleyite
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That's quite a lot - certainly seems to be enough to eliminate 4-car running entirely, with 5x24m (about 6x20m) being the shortest train in normal service.
Bletchleyite
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They are usage-based, which makes sense for a commuter operation because a far larger fleet is required for only about 6 hours a day (about 7-10am and 4-7pm). However when off-peak and weekend use boomed this proved an issue, with LM running 4-car sets around the place and being reluctant to cough up to get them out. A willingness to do so which has near eliminated weekend 4-car running is a big improvement WMT have made.
It probably seemed very sensible at the time but things have changed.
Bletchleyite
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Agreed. I think they were rather taken aback by the success of the Trent Valley services in particular.
thealm
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It is in service in a LNWR undercoat livery
RealTrains07
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Guess we just gotta wait for the pictures then?
SWRtrain_fan
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Do you know if the interior been refurbished? I would assume it has.
I wonder if 115 will be the next unit to head to Long Marston as the next one. IIRC they seem to swap every other Saturday which would put one going this weekend. Then itll at least look better for doing some sort of launch with.
Purely a guess though but from a PR point of view the first refurb being released in the former operators livery does seem to take the shine off.
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James Kevill
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So if all of the 30 Class 350/1 Desiros are being refurbished, will they be staying with West Midlands Trains franchise for now?
43096
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They are there for the duration of the franchise.
It is only the Class 350/2s that go off lease.
Silverlinky
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For now and for the future!!
It is only the 350/2's which will depart....these are the Porterbrook leased units. The /1's, /3's and /4's will be supplemented by the 730's.
Oh and the 319's will depart too.....
RealTrains07
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319s will be gone by end of the year
RealTrains07
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So its not even in the white under coat like 350/123?
The work is being done in phases, interior is just 1 phase so i think as long as the trains interiors are in top standard then it wont be a problem
thealm
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I don’t sorry.
MatthewRead
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I thought the 319's were staying until 2021?
E6007
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Will they? Replaced by what? Only 10 x 350/4 is not enough to replace the 15 x 319 in service today.
Bletchleyite
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Will there be Aventras by then? If not I doubt it, as there are too many of them now for the 350/4s to provide a full replacement *and* allow all Trent Valleys to be 8-car as I believe is the intention.
It might have been true when there were only 7 sets, but they have taken rather a lot more for a capacity uplift.
RealTrains07
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We are way off from seeing any aventras even by December
Thats what i heard from the LNR team, the 319 will be replaced by the 350/4s
Probably expecting them to solve all their issues but they wont
NewSt
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Has 350115 come out today or not? And if so, does anyone know what times it will be at BHM today?
Silverlinky
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Its not out today....nor was it out yesterday!
NewSt
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Thanks for letting me know!
James Kevill
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Does anybody have pictures of 350115 in its light grey livery lately?
RealTrains07
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350/4 will act as a replacement
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
There aren't enough of them to do that, are there?
How many 319s are there now? Isn't it 3 x 12-car sets, plus 1 for Snorbens, plus at least one spare? Also more units are needed so all TV services can be 8-car.
700007
Established Member
According to customers on the LNR twitter feed, they complain a lot of the new services apparently do not have enough coaches during the peak. Services that apparently were 12 coaches and rammed have been downsized to 8 or even 4. Surely the sensible thing here is to keep the 350/4s alongside the 319s as opposed to replacing them, and lengthening these overcrowded services.
That's exactly what they will be doing. The /4s are purely for extra capacity.
No they wont the 730s replace the 319s
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