Yep, once again Britain's railways had the opportunity to try something a bit innovative with Alstom's articulated Thameslink trains, and they rejected it :roll:
If IEP gets cancelled, I think that we could have the HSTs with us until 2020, and the IC225s until 2030. Any new build Intercity trains, to replace current stock or to cater for increased electrification, will continue to be built in small batches for individual TOCs requirements, instead of a joined up plan of renewal that IEP would have offered. As such, I believe that if IEP is cancelled, new Intercity trains are likely to take the form of further Pendolino or Voyager style fixed formation units.
I predict that the GWML, MML and Edinburgh to Aberdeen will be electrified in the near to mid-term future. I reckon that the GWML would be capable of handling speeds of 140mph as far as Bristol (with proper investment in signalling), and as such could receive a fleet of Siemens Velaro style trains to operate the route.
I don't think that electrification beyond Perth to Inverness will be forthcoming; given the low frequency service on that route, and the particularly inclement weather the line experiences that would cause high OHLE maintenance costs.
When the MML is electrified, replacement stock for the ECML and WCML should be procured at the same time as the MML electric order. I think that these trains should consist of a Siemens Eurosprinter electric loco hauling twelve new design mark 5 carriages with a DVT at the rear. The carriages could be arranged in short articulated sets of maybe four carriages each to allow for operational flexibility in shortening or lengthening trains and to ensure that an entire twelve carriage train does not have to be removed from service when a carriage requires maintenance: So a single carriage "set" would have 3 articulated bogies under four carriages, with a conventional bogie and buffers at the outer ends of each four carriage set: The carriage sets would be built in two main variants: A "First class" set, consisting of 3 FOs and a restaurant carriage, and "Standard" sets, consisting of four SOs, so that a twelve car train would consist of three FOs, a restaurant and eight SOs.
When operating a service that is not under the wires (Crewe to Chester and Holyhead, and Edinburgh to Inverness), the Eurospinter loco would be removed from the train in exchange for a Bombardier Traxx diesel. Or alternatively, the DVT could instead be a mid range diesel loco that could propel or haul the train on non electrfied areas, or perhaps even a power cell loco if the technology can be proved successfully.
This would then free up the Pendolinos on the WCML, which could perhaps be cascaded to the Anglian main line, and offer mid distance semi fast services (say London to Preston) on the WCML and ECML routes.
MMLs' 222s would be cascaded to routes operated by 170s, which would in turn replace some of the Sprinter routes.
Urgh, why don't they just get the old designs for the APT and erm... build it. It's all proven technology now so there should be no problems whatsoever.
BR sold the active tilt technology used on the APT to the Italian company FIAT Ferrovaria when the APT project was wound up, which they used to develop there ETR 450 and ETR 470 "Pendolino" trains. This led to our very own class 390s, built by the company when it was talen over by Alstom, so, technically, we do have a descendant of the APT running in Britain already!
But dear lord, what I would give to travel on a production APT train instead of Branson's plastic Italian rubbish...
That gives me an idea!
