AWC stored 221s off to Cross Country

[RobShipway]

Admittedly, you probably may still have issues with tilt and TMS plus seat layout etc..., but could the none driving carriages of the Advanti class 221's be added to the class 221's that XC operate to lengthen them? So, for instance add two coaches to the XC five coach trains to make them seven coaches and make the four car units, five car units?

But I suppose even that is a big enough cost to impact the treasury.

 

[D365]

Admittedly, you probably may still have issues with tilt and TMS plus seat layout etc..., but could the none driving carriages of the Advanti class 221's be added to the class 221's that XC operate to lengthen them? So, for instance add two coaches to the XC five coach trains to make them seven coaches and make the four car units, five car units?

But I suppose even that is a big enough cost to impact the treasury.

Indeed. Same difference.

There’s zero interest in running the railways anymore.

 

[supervc-10]

There’s zero interest in running the railways anymore.

Not sure that it's just the railways they don't care about anymore.... but that's for another topic.

Would the owners of these units not be willing to invest a little towards it, enough to cover the TMS and tilt deactivate? It's got to be better for them than having them sat around off-lease. *Some* revenue coming in is better than costs to store them going out!

 

[JonathanH]

Would the owners of these units not be willing to invest a little towards it, enough to cover the TMS and tilt deactivate? It's got to be better for them than having them sat around off-lease. *Some* revenue coming in is better than costs to store them going out!

There is effectively only one customer though, so it isn't obvious why the leasing company would pay money to do work on their trains if that customer isn't going to buy at any cost.

The leasing company could offer the units for free. There would still be increased costs involved in running them, so it isn't going to happen.

Effectively these trains will only continue to exist if there is an expectation that one day they might be used again.

 

[Peter Sarf]

Not sure that it's just the railways they don't care about anymore.... but that's for another topic.

Would the owners of these units not be willing to invest a little towards it, enough to cover the TMS and tilt deactivate? It's got to be better for them than having them sat around off-lease. *Some* revenue coming in is better than costs to store them going out!

You beat me to it. BUT I doubt the DfT will allow XC to lease more units even if they are made a perfect match for free.

 

[Ayman Ilham]

Just to clarify what I’ve been hearing. There’s no money forthcoming. None at all. Not one brass farthing. Any cost is too much.

You beat me to it. BUT I doubt the DfT will allow XC to lease more units even if they are made a perfect match for free.

DfT/Treasury blatantly refusing to make use of the opportunity for XC to solve their capacity problem and instead forcing them to worsen it by leaving the trains they could've used off-lease will probably be the stupidest decision they'll ever make, and that says a lot given how many stupid decisions they've made over the years. Yes, we know they lack much sense as it is and our faith in UK railways has been worsening over the years, but if the spare Voyagers (and possibly Meridians) end up going for scrap because Treasury cheapskate for too long, then that's the final nail in the coffin for me! Time to start packing your bags everyone; I personally don't wanna have to continue living in a dystopia where everyone is continually forced to defect to cars one by one because public transport is being actively run into the ground due to the cheapskates in charge blocking off every opportunity that would've fixed it. Its about time a mass exodus started from the UK cos this is pretty much a lost cause at this rate; turning it into an uninhabited island is probably more plausible than most speculative ideas on this forum anyway.

 

[MattRat]

DfT/Treasury blatantly refusing to make use of the opportunity for XC to solve their capacity problem and instead forcing them to worsen it by leaving the trains they could've used off-lease will probably be the stupidest decision they'll ever make, and that says a lot given how many stupid decisions they've made over the years. Yes, we know they lack much sense as it is and our faith in UK railways has been worsening over the years, but if the spare Voyagers (and possibly Meridians) end up going for scrap because Treasury cheapskate for too long, then that's the final nail in the coffin for me! Time to start packing your bags everyone; I personally don't wanna have to continue living in a dystopia where everyone is continually forced to defect to cars one by one because public transport is being actively run into the ground due to the cheapskates in charge blocking off every opportunity that would've fixed it. Its about time a mass exodus started from the UK cos this is pretty much a lost cause at this rate; probably better to turn it into an uninhabited island.

Don't forget that you'll be demonized for getting into said car. Makes you wonder if they actually want us to travel.

 

[JonathanH]

Makes you wonder if they actually want us to travel.

Arguably not. Running diesel trains where every vehicle is powered means that broadly twice as many emissions are generated if the train is twice as long.

 

[Meerkat]

Don't forget that you'll be demonized for getting into said car. Makes you wonder if they actually want us to travel.

Reducing travel is the most sustainable travel - Greta happy.

 

[O L Leigh]

Would the owners of these units not be willing to invest a little towards it, enough to cover the TMS and tilt deactivate? It's got to be better for them than having them sat around off-lease. *Some* revenue coming in is better than costs to store them going out!

But the owners don't get revenue from running the trains but from leasing them. They care not one jot if the train gets used as long as they get their leasing costs. Therefore, offering them for free would mean that they get no income from them, and I can't see that catching on any time soon.

 

[Peter Sarf]

It is a case I fear of money not being available to keep the economy going.

DfT/Treasury blatantly refusing to make use of the opportunity for XC to solve their capacity problem and instead forcing them to worsen it by leaving the trains they could've used off-lease will probably be the stupidest decision they'll ever make, and that says a lot given how many stupid decisions they've made over the years. Yes, we know they lack much sense as it is and our faith in UK railways has been worsening over the years, but if the spare Voyagers (and possibly Meridians) end up going for scrap because Treasury cheapskate for too long, then that's the final nail in the coffin for me! Time to start packing your bags everyone; I personally don't wanna have to continue living in a dystopia where everyone is continually forced to defect to cars one by one because public transport is being actively run into the ground due to the cheapskates in charge blocking off every opportunity that would've fixed it. Its about time a mass exodus started from the UK cos this is pretty much a lost cause at this rate; turning it into an uninhabited island is probably more plausible than most speculative ideas on this forum anyway.

I feel your pain. Plus, as a car driver, I feel I am being squeezed out of public transport but punished for using my car - Croydon has started putting in the latest earner cameras spotting you driving near schools. Ban the schools I say or more realistically put the shops back where the buses run.

But the owners don't get revenue from running the trains but from leasing them. They care not one jot if the train gets used as long as they get their leasing costs. Therefore, offering them for free would mean that they get no income from them, and I can't see that catching on any time soon.

All we need is the magic money tree.

 

[Mitchell Hurd]

Which I find bizarre, because they don't *have* to be compatible with the XC fleet. The HSTs are a microfleet, these would be. Just run them around in pairs without letting them get near anything else. They'll be cheaper to maintain than HSTs because there'll be some parts commonality.

Good point actually!