A fleet rejig hasn’t taken place in over ten years but I think it may be time to reevaluate which fleet Scotrail have and where the units would be best suited.
Any modern stock (ie Class 334>) is un-suitable for ex-Class 314 work. The overheating is an obvious issue and once the 318s and 320s go there will be no other suitable units unless they have a mix of Class 380s and 385s being constantly swapped out. What they need is a more suburban style unit like the AT100 exclusively for these shorter workings. This will free up more 380s and 385s.
The Class 334s are still fairly modern units and there are 40 of them so it makes it more tricky to re-appoint them. The only solution would be to fully replace the 318s/320s with new units and have them run alongside the 334s on Argyle and North Clyde Line services. The A-B line could see new stock also (preferably with tables) and have the 334s predominantly used between Balloch-Airdrie/Springburn. I wish the 334s were adapted to 2x2 seating rather than the horrendous 3x3 or 3x2.
It would be ideal if the 334s could be cascaded elsewhere even replacing the 156s until they retire. It means the North Clyde and Argyle line services would have a more uniform fleet and would only ever need replaced in one big order but that would be impossible.
The Glasgow Metro is the other big thing on the horizon. If it will take over some of the ex-314-operated Strathclyde electrics routes, then there's not much point buying a fleet designed for them. It made sense to include their replacements in the wider EGIP order and it'll probably make sense to do the same for this BEMU order too. There is plenty of need for 385-alike units in Scotland in a fully electrified future, so they're unlikely to go to waste. In principle a 385 or similar could be made to run any route a 170 could, which means everything from the Anniesland stopper (modulo traction cooling issues) up to a run to Aberdeen or Inverness.
I have a feeling that the benefits of a unified 3x23m Scottish EMU on the North Clyde network will outweigh the loss of interoperability with the Argyle line. The 334s do just fine on Argyle line routes and pose no problems for the 6x20m island platforms in the core. There are 40 of them and their replacement may also be tied up with longer-term plans for the Glasgow Metro network.
Is there an advantage to procure trains from an existing fleet manufacturer i.e. Siemens, Hitachi, Alstom (formerly Bombardier) or could a new supplier like Stadler, Talgo or CAF have a chance?
I suppose one curveball with Talgo is they could dangle the carrot on the stick of promising to build the train manufacturing facility in Longannet. It'll certainly be interesting to see if it will be a winner takes all, or a split order between different manufacturers.
It has to go out to competitive public tender. It's possible to write tenders that only one company can possibly win in reality, but that can be difficult legally. While I'm pretty sure Hitachi will win with a BEMU derivative of the 385, it's no bad thing if another manufacturer can come up with a viable alternative product.
this is a valid point. Taking it a stage further, passengers need to be kept warm in winter and cool in summer- HVAC systems take quite a bit of power. Also, battery drain is function of the unit's speed and whether gradients are to be overcome. It is one thing trundling up to East Kilbride stopping all stations at a maximum speed of 40mph, compared to the ascent to Bowshank tunnel at 80mph, or worse, the climb to Slochd summit. One would hope stretches of OLE would be strategically sited to mitigate.
BEMUs will only be rolled out on routes where they are confident that they can fulfil the whole diagram in any sensible conditions. The plan for discontinuous electrification means that sections of OHLE will be installed across the network to maximise the possible use of BEMUs. The lack of connection between these means they have to start around grid connection points, which may or may not correlate with high-power sections of track. If a BEMU will have plenty of charge to get up Slochd in the middle of winter, it doesn't really matter that overhead power is only available on relatively easy track before and after.
