Are 769s suitable for Southern?

[SouthEastBuses]

With EMR desperately needing Southern's 171s, I was wondering, maybe as a temporary solution until we see the Uckfield and Marshlink lines electrified or if we get a new battery train for these lines:

Could the class 769 ever work with Southern? Running in third rail electric mode from London Bridge until Oxted then diesel to Uckfield and viceversa for the Uckfield line, and running in third rail electric mode from Eastbourne until Ore then diesel to Ashford International and viceversa for the Marshlink line.

One only issue: will there be enough 769s available for Southern?

 

[JonathanH]

With EMR desperately needing Southern's 171s, I was wondering, maybe as a temporary solution until we see the Uckfield and Marshlink lines electrified or if we get a new battery train for these lines:

Could the class 769 ever work with Southern? Running in third rail electric mode from London Bridge until Oxted then diesel to Uckfield and viceversa for the Uckfield line, and running in third rail electric mode from Eastbourne until Ore then diesel to Ashford International and viceversa for the Marshlink line.

One only issue: will there be enough 769s available for Southern?

They aren't suitable.

The cost of conversion could not be justified on the basis of them being a temporary solution.

Mark 3 derived units are banned through Oxted tunnel.

There are surplus 319s available once Northern are finished with them but my guess is they are destined for the scrapyard. It doesn't seem likely that any of the existing 769s will be diverted to Southern.

 

[swt_passenger]

Earlier thread here:

https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/class-769s-for-southern.190250/page-2

as can be seen, because they don’t fit Oxted tunnel they weren’t considered suitable in 2019, or in mid-2020, and now not in 2021 either...