Growing up in the 90s, I wasn’t aware of any major TOCS, particularly long haul, using ‘short stock’ - think 5 car services with LNER, or reduction from 7 MK3s to 4 DEMU with the 22x family. I understand under ‘Operation Princess’ that Virgin chose shorter stock because services would be running more frequently, which soon turned out to be a faff in itself.
Where did this idea arise from initially? Had it been done elsewhere in the U.K. before Virgin? Was it something that TOCs in mainland Europe were doing?
Where did this idea arise from initially? Had it been done elsewhere in the U.K. before Virgin? Was it something that TOCs in mainland Europe were doing?