Pendolino from Birmingham NS to Glasgow Central?

[route:oxford]

I may be travelling from Birmingham to Glasgow tomorrow.

Are there any services that are operated by Pendolino rather than Voyager?

 

[Daniel]

As far as I know the majority of them are operated by Pendolinos..?

 

[ChrisTheRef]

....no they're not.

It'll be a 5 car Super Voyager.

If you're on a flexi ticket and want a Pendolino, jump off at Warrington BQ and wait for the next one to Glasgow

 

[route:oxford]

....no they're not.

It'll be a 5 car Super Voyager.

If you're on a flexi ticket and want a Pendolino, jump off at Warrington BQ and wait for the next one to Glasgow

Thanks for that.

In this weather it's not worthwhile the risk swapping trains, I'll be carrying a suitcase so was hoping for something fractionally more luggage friendly than voyager...

I might just head into town instead (from Oxford) and grab a Pendolino from Euston to Glasgow or HST from Kings X to Edinburgh and beyond.

 

[37401]

or HST from Kings X to Edinburgh and beyond.

If you are going Kings Cross - Glasgow chances are it`ll be a 91, still nowt to complain about they certainly make a (AC) racket

 

[MCR247]

....no they're not.

It'll be a 5 car Super Voyager.

If you're on a flexi ticket and want a Pendolino, jump off at Warrington BQ and wait for the next one to Glasgow

Or a 4 car Super Voyager!

 

[37401]

Or a 4 car Super Voyager!

Thats what we call a lucky dip

 

[djw1981]

If tehre is a diversion on, the you sometime get a Pendo on that route of teh Voyagers are doing the non-el;ectrified diversions etc,

 

[Drsatan]

Or a 4 car Super Voyager!

220s (4-car voyagers) are just called voyagers.

Anyway, that's the privatised railway for you: diesel trains running under the wires all of the way to their destinations

 

[MCR247]

220s (4-car voyagers) are just called voyagers.

Anyway, that's the privatised railway for you: diesel trains running under the wires all of the way to their destinations

Yes, but 221141-144 are 4 car

 

[Pumbaa]

220s (4-car voyagers) are just called voyagers.

Anyway, that's the privatised railway for you: diesel trains running under the wires all of the way to their destinations

Yup. MCR247 is correct

221141 - 144 are 4-car SuperVoyagers. They still tilt and were ordered for the North Wales runs. Obviously they're completely unsuitable, like the rest of their siblings.

Stupidly, the 4-car SVs are split between XC and VT, XC have 1, VT have the other 3. No idea why. VT should have kept all 4 IMO, for use on the North Wales service as originally intended As they bungled the original idea, the can suffer

NB I know it wasn't their fault entirely

 

[chris89]

It's just down to luck really.

As i go From Wolverhampton to Edinburgh Wavely Every other month to see my other have and 5/6 (trips up and down) times it's been a 5 car Super Voyager, and only once an Pendolino which in term had all the resevervations cancelled :/.

For next week im not bothered as i have a booked seat, just hope it isn't that 4 car Super Voyager that is used.


Chris

 

[Tugzrule]

It is very rare that a 4 car 221 passes Carlisle now so i think you will be having a five car. Last 4-car was about 1 month ago and previous one that i have seen was about two months previous.

 

[Drimnagh Road]

Re use of vomitters on the West Midlands-Scotland services.

That's the one thing that I have always particulalry found contradictory at about the UK, no offence. You have all these green people going on about the need for further electrification etc yet you have Voyagers running under the wires for the whole 290 miles between Birmingham and Edinburgh / Glasgow.

I find this even more ironic as this was a route that was previously in the hands of 86s for at least some of the journeys. Progress is a funny thing.

Why not get electric trains running on electrified routes first and then look at electrifying other routes.

 

[MCR247]

Re use of vomitters on the West Midlands-Scotland services.

That's the one thing that I have always particulalry found contradictory at about the UK, no offence. You have all these green people going on about the need for further electrification etc yet you have Voyagers running under the wires for the whole 290 miles between Birmingham and Edinburgh / Glasgow.

I find this even more ironic as this was a route that was previously in the hands of 86s for at least some of the journeys. Progress is a funny thing.

Why not get electric trains running on electrified routes first and then look at electrifying other routes.

I agree about this to an extent. Similar to people going on about 'Build a HS2 and a HS network'. IMO we should deal with the problems we've got like pacers, voyagers on XC (Perfectly good trains for other routes though) before building a HS network and even the Thameslink project

 

[Dave R]

Virgin are getting 4 more pendolinos arent they? and why not extend voyagers to 7 coaches?

 

[MCR247]

A) The pendolinos will make the Glasgow services hourly (from EUS)
B) The engines in 220/221s are no longer in production. And adding up to 3 trailers would make the acceleration considerably slower

 

[mallard]

A) The pendolinos will make the Glasgow services hourly (from EUS)
B) The engines in 220/221s are no longer in production. And adding up to 3 trailers would make the acceleration considerably slower

Surely there are engines in production with a similar enough spec that compatible vehicles could be made?

 

[37402]

Surely there are engines in production with a similar enough spec that compatible vehicles could be made?

...and there was an article in Railnews recently saying Bombardier are looking into the possibility of making Voyagers into a hybrid diesel/electric unit.

 

[Geezertronic]

They should convert the driving ends to become dedicated power cars then they can remove the underfloor engines in the other carriages and add more as they feel the need to....

- just wakes up in a hot sweat after dreaming about the new Class 44 and 45

 

[royaloak]

They should convert the driving ends to become dedicated power cars then they can remove the underfloor engines in the other carriages and add more as they feel the need to....

- just wakes up in a hot sweat after dreaming about the new Class 44 and 45

Oh I am sure the body shell could take the weight of a dirty great engine dropped on its back and big holes cut in the sides for the radiators without sagging :roll:, do you have much of an idea about engineering?

 

[starrymarkb]

220s (4-car voyagers) are just called voyagers.

Anyway, that's the privatised railway for you: diesel trains running under the wires all of the way to their destinations

Its not an idea of the privatised railway, its down to the DfT splitting up XC, the diesel voyagers would have continued south to the unwired South West. When the West coast runs were split off it would have required new tilting EMUs, or use the Voyagers that were already being used. As with everything to do with the XC franchise the lowest cost option was taken.

In the Franchise spec it said that 20ish 221s would be transfered to VWC to use on Brum to Scotlands

 

[MCR247]

Surely there are engines in production with a similar enough spec that compatible vehicles could be made?

It would just make life awkward unless you built the new coaches (say 10) and then took the same amount out of the original trains; and had a pool with new engines and a pool with old engines (say you kept the NWC & Brum - Scotland trains seperate?)

 

[Geezertronic]

Oh I am sure the body shell could take the weight of a dirty great engine dropped on its back and big holes cut in the sides for the radiators without sagging :roll:, do you have much of an idea about engineering?

Maybe you have had too much Christmas Pop... or missed the sarcasm in my post

 

[royaloak]

Well perhaps if it didnt look like a statement I would have read it as ironic, but it does so I didnt!

 

[johnb]

The sensible thing would be to build some 6- or 7-car Pendos for Birmingham (and Manchester, now that's being electrified) -> Scotland services.

 

[MCR247]

The sensible thing would be to build some 6- or 7-car Pendos for Birmingham (and Manchester, now that's being electrified) -> Scotland services.

or add a panto coach to Super Voyagers

 

[johnb]

<panto>Oh no it wouldn't!</panto>

Sorry.

The point is, there's plenty of use for 221s off the wires, and will be for the rest of their operational lives (e.g. doubled up to Penzance when HSTs are retired and Bristol and Swansea are electrified) - whereas Brum & Manc <-> Glasgow & Edinburgh can be served without needing to lug around five heavy underfloor engines.

 

[TheWalrus]

Thanks for that.

In this weather it's not worthwhile the risk swapping trains, I'll be carrying a suitcase so was hoping for something fractionally more luggage friendly than voyager...

I might just head into town instead (from Oxford) and grab a Pendolino from Euston to Glasgow or HST from Kings X to Edinburgh and beyond.

Or you could go from Birmingham-Glasgow via ECML and get a XC HST? :

 

[route:oxford]

Or you could go from Birmingham-Glasgow via ECML and get a XC HST? :

There was that possibility... It does take a long time though.

Oxford-Edinburgh/Glasgow is quickest via Brum/West Coast.

Slightly slower via London Euston/Kings X

Slowest via Brum & XC

As it was I was full of the 'flu and spent Winterval in bed in Oxford.