4 platforms which can only take 2x 810s compared to other InterCity London terminals.
With the 810s capacity it shouldn't be a problem for a while.
Different people have said different things. Some have said electrically same as class 805 (which has been tested), others say it is different.
I've kind of lost track of how far the wires will have got to by the time the 810s start - will it be Leicester?
There is no current firm commitment to wires north of Wigston South.
Thanks for info. Daft, obviously....
propulsion system is different. Uprated motors (and no doubt control gear) but fewer of them, 125mph design top speed.
How far is Wigston South to Leicester
It's only about 4 miles, but unlikely to be the next stage of MML electrification.
Four miles, you thought they could accomplish that.This country is a joke, and not even a funny one
Electrification needs to take into consideration the various proposals to make it easier to get freight from Nuneaton to Peterborough.
They could, easily. But there are three reasons why I don't think they will do Leicester next:
The other reason being that Leicester is a problem due to the low bridge at the south end of the platforms. It’s too low for OLE so NR looked at dropping the trackbed but the sewer/water table was right underneath so that canned that. I heard they were looking at using a contact conductive sheet/strip or something like that on the bridge ceiling so the pan can contact without the need for wires to be suspended. I’ve heard that there will be a gap between Wigston and then the wires will restart at Syston when/if they ever wire past Leicester. Think the plan was to run 360’s from Leicester, but I doubt that will happen. Quite a gap and a pain having to pan down engine on, drive a few miles then pan up, engine off etc.
My understanding was that the station bridge at Leicester gives enough clearance for an insulated coating to be used on the underside of the bridge, as was used on the Intersection Bridge in Cardiff.
www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk
That’s exactly what I’d heard - sorry I couldn’t remember what it was called!My understanding was that the station bridge at Leicester gives enough clearance for an insulated coating to be used on the underside of the bridge, as was used on the Intersection Bridge in Cardiff.
Cardiff bridge avoids £40m demolition thanks to electric resistant paint
In a world first, electric resistant paint combined with voltage-controlled clearance (VCC) has helped make a Victorian railway bridge usable by new electric trains, avoiding weeks of passenger disruption and train delays in the process.
Though the issue at Leicester will be the low height of the wires and therefore the pantograph horns just above the adjacent platform. How they will address that, I don't know.
Once upon a time, Tyco used to do a plastic insulator for just that purpose.. Low demand meant they discontinued it. Great at Birmingham International when the pigeons say on the wires above a Pendo (flash, bang)
And this, really, is the tragedy. For want of 20m to extend the platforms by, we have to wait for the 810s to go through a whole type acceptance instead of being an off-the-shelf 80x.
Agreed, and thanks.
Indeed, EMR has some tatty trains for sure, an old core fleet and some hand me downs. Contrast that with TPE, but EMR's reliability record is a lot better.
For my day trips to London i got into the habit or deliberately booking trips carried out by 180's. For two reasons, they were nice to ride on and - with the woeful reliability - i could claim delay/replay and get a really cheap trip to London1
An alternative view could be that the 80x's should have been designed taking into account the wider network - which had standardised on 10x23m carriages or 12x20m carriages (hence St Pancras getting 240m platforms) - rather than just the initial routes they were purchased for.
First one on the network for testing - April, for first in service, ‘2025’, for all in service end of 2025. Test unit may be based at Kettering in the engineering siding, could change though. This could all move of course!