co-tr-paul
Member
Can't give a date on 217. 232 will stay as spare until refurb program complete before going off-lease, again no date. Anticipate many problems uncovered when first "lounge car" arrives !!
Last blue coach RFMB 10232 has gone into set. Tonights up (Thurs). 602 on depot this week for fitter training.
No posts yet on fun and games with 1C99 last night. Terminated Plymouth due brake fault, loco 57602. and went forward as 5C99 at 09+12 to Long Rock. This afternoon 57603 ran as 0Z79 1312 LE Old Oak Common to Penzance, presumably for 1A40 tonight (routed via Bristol) but has turned back at Didcot and sitting at Reading.
The challenge is that if they wait, CAF won't be as willing to produce a micro-fleet of only a dozen or so carriages for a reasonable price. It's vital for the future of the service that its stock replacement cycle is aligned with the Caledonian Sleeper. FirstGroup and Arriva had planned to refurbish the Mk3s along the lines of the Night Riviera stock and it must have taken them by surprise to see Serco come in with a new-build option. (Maybe that surprise was what drove FirstGroup to go for new build for TPE rather than loco hauled 442s like the others...?) The new franchise would be let in exactly the right time for CAF to produce a follow-on order.
Would there be any mileage in having the Night Riviera as a separate franchise, albeit a very small one?
Would there be any mileage in having the Night Riviera as a separate franchise, albeit a very small one?
Sorry for the ignorance Paul, have I missed something? Wasn't 10232 rusty beyond economic repair? Has another taken its place and assumed its number?
There were hst problems today meaning a set swap. Air systems.