5x Class 153 conversion to bike and baggage vans for Scotrail

[CR165022]

https://twitter.com/ScotRail/status/1318885383766265861?s=20

First 153 has been revealed by ScotRail

*Edit: literally 1 second after someone else puts it, oops

 

[chrissawer]

Bit surprised that there's no extra seating - I thought the concept showed a few extra seats. Nevertheless it will be a great addition to the scenic lines!

They have followed up with a second tweet "As well as fitting the racks for bikes and heavy luggage, they've also installed WiFi, plug sockets, and upgraded the toilet."

 

[Bletchleyite]

They have followed up with a second tweet "As well as fitting the racks for bikes and heavy luggage, they've also installed WiFi, plug sockets, and upgraded the toilet."

The photos are a bit misleading - they look like they're of the two ends of the coach, but they're not, they're both facing the same way from opposite sides of the aisle.

 

[43096]

First of the 153s have been revealed.

https://twitter.com/ScotRail/status/1318885383766265861?s=19

Bit surprised that there's no extra seating - I thought the concept showed a few extra seats. Nevertheless it will be a great addition to the scenic lines!

Ummmm, there are still some seats in it if you look at the second tweet.

 

[ld0595]

Now edited my original post. Didn't notice the second tweet!

 

[berneyarms]

Not just a few - 24 seats!

 

[Steven_G]

I love this idea and look forward to seeing them in action.

I have to say though that the use of space for bike racks looks poor. Vertically mounted racks could have gotten a whole load more in. I expect there will have been reasons.

 

[supervc-10]

I wonder if that's so they can fit tandems, recumbent bikes, that sort of thing?

 

[Neptune]

I love this idea and look forward to seeing them in action.

I have to say though that the use of space for bike racks looks poor. Vertically mounted racks could have gotten a whole load more in. I expect there will have been reasons.

There was alot of moaning about vertical racks when that was the original plan so I assume everyone is happy with the results.

 

[ld0595]

Someone queried something like this on Twitter and the justification was that it couldn't fit tandems otherwise.

https://twitter.com/dbertho/status/1318910283449061377?s=19

 

[TheDavibob]

Any bike with a bit of weight can be a challenge to put vertically. GWR have been slammed across cycling social media for their bike hooks, e.g. https://road.cc/content/news/267162-cycling-uk-slams-awful-cycle-storage-gwrs-high-speed-trains

Cyclists on two of the UK’s main rail lines are encountering problems with bike storage on the latest generation of high-speed trains – not only because space is extremely limited, but also due to many being unable to physically fit their bikes in the allotted spaces, with Cycling UK describing the provision as “awful.”


GWR, which operates services to the Wales and the south west of England, and LNER, the operator of trains on the East Coast Main Line to destinations including York, Newcastle upon Tyne and Edinburgh, both now have fleets of trains from the Hitachi AT300 family.


They were first introduced in the UK by GWR in October 2017 under the brand name Intercity Express Train and entered service on the East Coast Main Line in May this year, with the brand name Azuma.


We’ve previously reported on one road.cc reader’s experience of trying to board one of the GWR trains and the difficulty he had once on board, and recent posts to Twitter show that he is far from alone.


Indeed, this morning Cycling UK – who were heading this morning from Reading to today’s Pedal on the Senedd (link is external) ride in Cardiff to call for more money for cycling – tweeted a picture of the bike storage space they encountered, contrasting it with the situation on trains in France.

There's a large swathe of bikes that are just too heavy, not even getting to big bikes (cargo/tandem, etc.), and there are many cyclists who can't particularly lift their bike. I think the right call was made.

 

[fgwrich]

Also good to see that they have retained the Richmond's and not replaced them with the awful Fainsa's.

 

[Leeds1970]

will be fun next summer as you can pretty much guarantee one of these is going to end up working on its own

 

[py_megapixel]

I have to say though that the use of space for bike racks looks poor. Vertically mounted racks could have gotten a whole load more in. I expect there will have been reasons.

Someone queried something like this on Twitter and the justification was that it couldn't fit tandems otherwise

Indeed. Without wishing to over-generalise, it tends often to be those who don't regularly travel with a bike who suggest the use of vertical racks. They suffer from a wealth of issues including inability to accommodate large bikes as well as it being a pain to lift anything heavier than a lightweight road bike in and out because you have to awkwardly hang the wheels... just compare how long it takes to load a bike on a Voyager or Pendolino with a suburban unit! Often TOCs tend to put them in pairs so it's even more of a pain than usual to get a bike out with another in front of it.

will be fun next summer as you can pretty much guarantee one of these is going to end up working on its own

I would assume that would be an absolute last resort, when the alternative would be cancellation. ScotRail aren't getting rid of any WHL stock so I don't see why the allocations would be any different.

Also good to see that they have retained the Richmond's and not replaced them with the awful Fainsa's.

Many people will disagree with you on that. The Richmonds are hardly the pinnacle of train seating comfort, especially for those of us with long legs, and Fainsas afford far more legroom and make the carriage feel airier thanks to their thin seat back.

 

[LowLevel]

I am to tall for the contours of the Richmond seating. I hope they've moved them further apart too! They were far too close together.

 

[Neptune]

I am to tall for the contours of the Richmond seating. I hope they've moved them further apart too! They were far too close together.

Yes the Richmond seats have a ridiculously thick seat back which is totally unnecessary and means legroom in airline seats is far too tight on most of the stock it is fitted to. Spacing them out more loses seating capacity which is something companies don’t like doing.

The Fainsa’s are fine so long as the seat base has enough cushioning.

 

[Mag_seven]

Can we keep the topic of the thread please - if anyone wants to discuss seats then please start a new thread.

 

[delt1c]

Looks good, obviously you cant please all the people all of the time. Is there still a buffet counter fitted?

 

[applepie2100]

I'm rather curious as to why they went with lengthwise racks as opposed to the ceiling hangers used in the 156's. Which do the cyclists among us prefer?

 

[py_megapixel]

I'm rather curious as to why they went with lengthwise racks as opposed to the ceiling hangers used in the 156's. Which do the cyclists among us prefer?

Assuming you mean the kind which requires hanging one wheel of the bike from a hook of sorts, see my reply upthread:

Without wishing to over-generalise, it tends often to be those who don't regularly travel with a bike who suggest the use of vertical racks. They suffer from a wealth of issues including inability to accommodate large bikes as well as it being a pain to lift anything heavier than a lightweight road bike in and out because you have to awkwardly hang the wheels... just compare how long it takes to load a bike on a Voyager or Pendolino with a suburban unit! Often TOCs tend to put them in pairs so it's even more of a pain than usual to get a bike out with another in front of it.

Of course I don't speak for everyone, so hopefully others will give their opinions too.

 

[adamedwards]

Modern Railways reports the 153s will take tandems. So Oban is accessible to us. Rest of Scotland, still not possible. This matters when you have a disabled partner. Any ScotRail managers reading this, please can a 153 run to Inverness in traffic rather than ECS when you start running to Thurso. My partner would like us to do the Orkneys

 

[ashkeba]

I'm rather curious as to why they went with lengthwise racks as opposed to the ceiling hangers used in the 156's. Which do the cyclists among us prefer?

Seatbelt-style straps from the walls like on Thameslink or Greater Anglia. Not hangers and especially not only small hooks like LNER Azumas that do not take wide tyres.

 

[Geeves]

These have really turned out nicely. Over the years watching people try ram a bike into a crowded peak time train has really opened my eyes to how useful any spare ones 153s could be just as pure bike carriers tagged on the back. Doesnt need to be anything fancy, maybe we see other franchises having a go if Scotrail makes a success out of this.

 

[DB]

Have these got a catering area in them as shown in the concept images?

 

[InOban]

I understand that it will be the cover picture on Modern Railways tomorrow.

 

[Bald Rick]

I understand that it will be the cover picture on Modern Railways tomorrow.

It is on mine that arrived today!

 

[Journeyman]

Have these got a catering area in them as shown in the concept images?

No, they decided not to include that in the end.

 

[GlitterUnicorn]

Modern Railways reports the 153s will take tandems. So Oban is accessible to us. Rest of Scotland, still not possible. This matters when you have a disabled partner. Any ScotRail managers reading this, please can a 153 run to Inverness in traffic rather than ECS when you start running to Thurso. My partner would like us to do the Orkneys

Wouldn't a tandem fit into a HST powercar?

 

[SteveM70]

How will these operate though? Scotrail say in reply to this tweet https://twitter.com/turnbulltv/status/1318892973602603008?s=21 that they’ll run with existing 2 and 4 carriage trains, but the combined Oban / Mallaigs run as 6 car to Crianlarich. Is there platform room for 7 car as far as Crianlarich?

 

[Bletchleyite]

No, they decided not to include that in the end.

Talking of catering, though, the MR article on them suggests they are considering making the Standard seating area in them (which is all tables except the priority seats) a sort of premium "Silver Standard" type thing with free refreshments.

How will these operate though? Scotrail say in reply to this tweet https://twitter.com/turnbulltv/status/1318892973602603008?s=21 that they’ll run with existing 2 and 4 carriage trains, but the combined Oban / Mallaigs run as 6 car to Crianlarich. Is there platform room for 7 car as far as Crianlarich?

They will, at least to start with, run on the Obans that don't carry a FW portion.