Because you have to release the 22x first, but with 221s running under the wires from Birmingham to Scotland, I'd say we need to get some extra Pendos to allow some 221s to be cascaded to XC to cascade an equivelent number of 220s (with a pantograph car added) to the one route bi-mode actually seems to make a bit of sence on, Paddington to Hereford/Worcester/Great Malvern. The trick then is going to be killing off everything else that DfT think they need bi-mode trains for.
Not really. I read somewhere that there is a minimum viable quantity of (I think) 70 odd bi-modes (the rest would be on East Coast), presumablly due to ecconomys of scale. The real trobble with Swansea I'm guessing is the Severn Tunnel Diversionary route (which also takes another 2-hourly (possibly doubled to hourly) bi-mode service out of Paddington to Cheltenham). If Swansea is wired you still need the bi-modes for the one day a week that services are diverted, wire Swansea and the diversionary route, and bi-mode IEP can be killed off thus:
- East Coast's off-wire services are only 1-3 trains per day, give them a uniform fleet of electric IEPs and drag with 67s when the wires run out
- Anything from Paddington to Taunton and beyond is too far to travel on a DMU, keep the IC125s. Divert them all via Westbury to cut down on under the wires mileage and put some of the IC125s retired from other services on XC to give quality direct Bristol - south West services.
- Weston-Super-Mare will loose some services due to their diversion via Westbury, the rest could maybe be dragged
- Swansea is a special case, a reversal at a station which gives you 7 mins in which to swap the 91 off a IC225 set for a TDM fitted 47 for the (max 3 per day) trains that go further, with Landore depot nearby which could become the base for 91s (they'd have to be at the London end for the loco swap).
I don't think so. If they don't decide to wire by the end of this year they'll have ordered the bi-modes.
I've heard opinions that the Swanline services are underused because of infrequency. I therefore think they are crying out to go hourly with electrification. The Pembroke Dock services have a big question mark over them with IEP bi-mode anyway, Narberth tunnel might not take the longer carriges. My solution of loco-swapping an IC225 would help ensure their survival. Between Bridgend and Cardiff there is also the Maesteg service, which if ValleyLines electrification goes ahead would also benifit from electrification. I'd take the Maesteg and Swansea services and run the through to Cheltenham (which needs to be wired to allow the services from Paddington to be electric, and as part of the Severn Tunnel diversionary route) and Bristol (split off the Cardiff - Taunton).
That gives you 3 electric trains per hour between Cardiff and Bridgend, 2 between Bridgend and Swansea and an electric service between Cardiff and Bristol TM (though at the loss of the direct service to Taunton). You could cut the Manchesters at Cardiff, but you'd have to run a Cardiff - West Wales in their place anyway or extend the Portsmouth and Nottingham (diesel) services to Swansea if west Wales trains aren't going to come further east. Therefore there won't be any more services going over to electric traction if you do that.
As to the points about train lengths, you have to remember that IEP cars are 3 meters longer than mark 3s. That means an 8-car electric could be alright the GWML, with a 9-car electric for the ECML. The bi-mode version however is nonsence (though if we have to have 5-car sets, an even mix of 5-car bi-modes and 5-car EMUs running 1 EMU and 1 bi-mode in multiple with the EMU stopping at the end of the wires and the 5-car bi-mode carrying on would be the best of a bad bunch).
thanks.