Even if that were possible, tere's still a cost to GTR associated with keeping crews trained on them (drivers and maintenance).
And they're not owned by a leasing company, they are owned directly by DfT.
They are going over to a leasco from July.
I get the point about drivers, however that’s partly what makes me think it’s silly moving them - the drivers are already trained, and we’re not talking about a massive number. Surely better to keep up what already exists?
I can understand complaint about 700s covering services 365s used to operate, but is the change to a 387 (or who knows maybe also a 379) that much of a problem to justify driving when you wouldn't otherwise? Alright the seats are a bit firm but the travelling experience on 387s has always seemed decent enough.
It isn’t just about the 365s. We’re already now seeing timetables where there’s virtually no peak extras. So it seems likely the service is essentially going to be the 4tph ThamesLink, 2tph KX/Cambridge and 2tph KX/Ely/Kings Lynn. On that basis, and with the 365s going, the scales firmly top in favour of the car for a number of reasons.
Apparently, i.e. there's no authoritative source for it.
The source we had on here seemed pretty reliable, to be fair.
I’m sure the 365s *could* go back on DC, just with a massive amount of work, and therefore cost, and associated risk.
A nice provincial electrification scheme would have been the perfect solution! However in the absence of that, when one looks at what older stock there still is, you’re basically talking about the Scottish 318/320, and the Southern 313/455. Beyond that there’s no other AC or DC EMUs of the age where replacement is beckoning, that hasn’t already got something in hand.