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The introduction of 22 6-car Baby Pendolinos to replace the WCML Voyager fleet was part of the Virgin franchise proposal in 2012. Sir Richard Branson was photographed shaking on the deal with Alstom's CEO. A lot of preparatory work was completed, including trials of multiple unit operation with...

When the 696xx vehicle on the 9-car trains (originally coach G, 1st Class) was converted to Standard Class it was renamed Coach F. This was to avoid Coach G being 1st Class on 11-car trains and Standard Class on 9-car trains. The Standard Class interior on the converted 696xx vehicle was a copy...

The seating plan on coach F on a 9-car train is reversed relative to coach F on an 11-car train. I presume your original booking was made on an 11-car train but a 9-car was substituted on the day. On 9-car 390047 coach F would be vehicle 69647. On the 11-car trains the 696xx vehicle is coach G...

390049 departed Alstom Widnes this morning (16/03/24) post-refurbishment. It has been replaced at Widnes by 390008. There are now only 6 unrefurbished sets remaining in service; 390002, 390010, 390013, 390020, 390042 and 390046

In the early days of Class 390 introduction there were a couple of sections of route with MU 125mph speed limits where the OLE could only support 110mph (between Rugby and Coventry and Wolverhampton and Stafford). This had not been an issue previously as the electric locos had a maximum speed of...

Three cars of 720516 were being shunted alongside the main line at Longsight this morning, so it may be in the process of being formed into a complete 5-car unit for testing. It has been undergoing retrofit work in the Electric Traction Depot.

There will be a presentation on the TransPennine Route Upgrade hosted by the IMechE Railway Division at Manchester Metropolitan University of Tuesday 13th February at 18:30. Guests are welcome and the event can also be viewed online via Microsoft TEAMS...

390001 departed Widnes just before midnight on Friday night (19/01) with 390011 arriving in the early hours of Saturday morning (20/01).

390039 is currently in-work at Widnes and due out next weekend (16th December).

Current unit is 390016, due out this weekend (18/11/23). This will be the 6th refurbished 9-car set; 390006, 390009, 390016, 390044, 390045 & 390050. The programme is due to complete in June 2024.

390050 departed Widnes this morning and is the 39th train to complete refurbishment. 390006 has gone into Widnes. The four refurbished 9-car trains are 390009, 390044, 390045 and 390050.

Three 9-car trains have now completed refurbishment at Widnes, 390045, 390009 and 390044. This leaves 18 trains remaining (390050 currently in work), with project completion in June 2024.

Boost mode is disabled at high external ambient temperatures to prevent over-stressing of the Traction equipment.

Yes, the two trains operated electrically coupled, controlled from the lead cab. Each train had a special instrumented pantograph installed on the H car. The multiple unit operated with the instrumented pantograph raised on both trains i.e. with both leading pantographs raised in the Up...

Yes, that is correct, Eco mode only comes into effect when accelerating in notch 4 at speeds above 45mph. At lower power demands Eco and Boost performance is identical.

Regenerative braking is not affected by selection of Boost/Eco mode. There was some consideration of enhancing regen braking performance, but this was constrained by torque limitations on the cardan shaft and gearbox and adhesion performance.

Yes, Boost mode is the Traction characteristic that was in use from entry into service through to 2008. This characteristic was used when predicting the original journey times for the PUG1 (125mph) and PUG2 (140mph) WCML upgrades, and determined the design limits for the Traction equipment. As...

The introduction of Boost/Eco mode evolved from energy consumption measurements performed on 390049 in 2007. Net consumption was compared for multiple runs on different routes over several weeks and it was observed that the consumption was lower when operating with one of the six Traction...

The new seat reservation system is being trialled on one 11-car and one 9-car initially. If all is in order then the new displays will be introduced into the 9-car refurbishment scope and will be retrofitted to the trains that have already been refurbished. It is not just a question of replacing...

390135, with the new seat reservation displays, returned to service this morning (9th September), operating service 1A18 from Liverpool. The first refurbished 9-car train (390045) has now departed Widnes for Edge Hill and is replaced by 390009.