80x have many faults but they are absolutely, definitely, 100% better than Voyagers in just about every way other than the one that's the easiest thing to change in an afternoon using a spanner (I don't dare say it).
Essentially you are correct - as new trains to the UK network they are unreliable compared to existing stock, only the fact that GWR's HSTs were marred with unreliable GWATP equipment led them to actually become an improvement (I can't explain why that's the case, but it's certainly been reported). Both 800s and 802s on GWR are barely reaching 10,000 MTIN when other intercity fleets are above 20,000. They still have a way to go yet. Voyagers are unloved by the travelling passenger community (a fact that the new WCML operator cited in their own press release as a reason for their replacement, pure PR I'm sure, they would have gone anyway) but they are still far more reliable than 80x units at present.
The Class 73 electro-diesels ('bi-modes' in current jargon) built by English Electric were introduced in 1962.
At some point wiring all the way to Penzance will surely be on the agenda - eliminating the bi-modes should make considerable through-life savings, as well as the environmental benefit.
Just need to finish off the electrification of Coventry - Oxford and Reading to Basingstoke, then the Manchester Picc - Bournemouth service will be running entirely on electrified track*
* I know Basingstoke - Bournemouth is third rail which would require fully electrified 800s to have a shoegear, but I think getting away with diesel operation for that section should be fine
Where do we begin... Whilst yes, the Cross Country is in desperate need of additional capacity, having to travel from Birmingham New Street to get back home to my parents from university, the majority of the time the Class 220/221s just cannot cope with the increasing passenger numbers.
Having said all that, it would be desirable for a new fleet of brand new trains to be introduced, however it is not going to happen given the DFT have continued to issue direct awards to Arriva for the most recent XC tender. Given the whole mess that is the rail franchising system and with the aftermath of the Williams Review, it will be a long way until XC sees any brand new stock. I personally see the WCML Class 221s and EMR Class 222s transferring in the next few years.
The Voyagers I would not count just yet as life-expired and compared to the majority of inter-city trains in operation, they are often the most reliable when looking at the Miles per Technical Incident figures. Voyagers are not bad trains but that's as far as I will go with that comment!
Its often been mentioned that refurbishing the Class 220/221s to a similar specification to the Class 68 and Mark 3 sets will not deliver the amount of capacity needed, and would be completely wasted considering the Chiltern Main Line tops at 100mph. More recently, Chiltern are modifying their Mark 3s in preparation for the PRM-TSI deadline at the end of the year. The Class 68s and Mark 3s are definitely not going anywhere just yet!
That was because of the higher leasing cost that First/MTR did not want to pay for the Class 707s compared to the Class 701s on order...
Successive governments, not just the Conservatives but also Labour that have got the railways wrong. It was the Labour government that ensured that major rail franchises were let as zero-growth franchises and didn't announce any major electrification projects under their tenure
In your opinion! The Class 800s are now in the second year of service with GWR and are criticised for their poor comfort in comparison to the HSTs they have replaced. If you are saying its just "teething problems", 2 years is pretty damning.
So you comparing an image dating from the late 1970s/early 1980s to a Class 800 today??? Hardly a fair comparison...
But since you asked, I would take the HST.
Again, that is your opinion.
I cannot stop chuckling at this comment
In the short term nothing, theirs are already PRM modified. In the mid-term, replacement by the expected transfers of 22x units from EMR and the WCML operator.
The Manchester-Bournemouth train is the Bristol-Manchester train so it would need the Temple Meads to Bromsgrove bit to be completed. There’s still more than enough wiring to justify bi-modes in any case.Just need to finish off the electrification of Coventry - Oxford and Reading to Basingstoke, then the Manchester Picc - Bournemouth service will be running entirely on electrified track*
* I know Basingstoke - Bournemouth is third rail which would require fully electrified 800s to have a shoegear, but I think getting away with diesel operation for that section should be fine
Not sure what you mean by this. Are you referring to the diagrams interworking perhaps, because that can fairly easily be changed...
But that makes it a monopoly which is my point....And the fast lines to be wired between Kings Norton & Longbridge
Maybe it's Hitachi because they have a working bi-mode product
If they're the only company that have designed a suitable product, then it isn't really their fault if they have a monopoly...
2010? Ermmmm, try 1851.
Sport getting it confused with Kenilworth station, which is on the line. I thought it got cut in the 1970s by beeching but it was then it was single tracked
At the station yes, north of there towards Gibbet Hill has never been twin track.
I don't think the coventry to leamington line needs to be double track, to allow for class 802s, does it?
I wasn't talking about 802s, I was correcting the misconception that the line was double track all the way.
Not a direct requirement to run that type of train.
Agreed, lots of the time the WMR service is late, this seems likely to be because of Kenilworth being single tracked and lots of freight trains pass, maybe these clog up the line and cause the WMR service to get delayed?
