Irish Mk 3's

[RobShipway]

Can I just point out that nobody has awarded one of these longer franchises yet, or even proposed doing so, via a revised franchise spec? If and when they do, I suspect that the TOC owning groups, the ROSCOs and the rolling stock suppliers will all breathe a sigh of relief and will be invigorated to the process of moving the industry forwards.

You have also got Chiltern trains on a 20 year franchise.

 

[MCR247]

You have also got Chiltern trains on a 20 year franchise.

And they are life extending MK3s by fitting power doors and possibly seating in the DVT....

 

[Kingfisher200262]

Arriva Trains Wales were given a fifteen year franchise, which would have been long enough to justify investment in new trains - in fact the average age is now older (due to the hire of the 57 for the WAG service).

The Wales and Borders franchise was tightly specified by the SRA, with no room for movement by the bidders, on the basis of "steady as you go". This extended to the ROSCOs locking the TOC into long leases through to the end of the franchise.

Short of Arriva parking the Pacers in a field until 2018 and paying the rental anyway, there is no way that they will be replaced with new rolling stock.

 

[route:oxford]

CSRE has been very public about its pricing, unlike all other rolling stock manufacturers. It published prices for the three products that you referred to, in the April issue of Modern Railways. You can see a copy of the ad by clicking here.

I know the word "from" is hugely irritating when used in pricing ads, but it's only there because train operators are likely to want to specify a plethora of options. However, fundamentally the prices published would buy a "ready to run" passenger vehicle, capable of operating on the UK network and compliant with all standards.

Thanks for posting that. It's good to get an idea of how much a "off-the-shelf" train would cost.

The Pulsar units do look rather smart, even if they are the cheapest of the range.

 

[Kingfisher200262]

Thanks for posting that. It's good to get an idea of how much a "off-the-shelf" train would cost.

The Pulsar units do look rather smart, even if they are the cheapest of the range.

Thank you. Actually, Pacemaker and Pulsar both have the same front end; the difference in the two images is that the Pacemaker is shown with a gangwayed end and Pulsar with no unit end gangway.

Unfortunately, as the stylists from all train builders have proved, it's almost impossible to make a gangwayed end look good (although I do like the Class 442 Wessex units, which, unfortunately would not meet crashworthiness standards today, due to corner load requirements).

 

[MCR247]

CSRE has been very public about its pricing, unlike all other rolling stock manufacturers. It published prices for the three products that you referred to, in the April issue of Modern Railways. You can see a copy of the ad by clicking here.

I know the word "from" is hugely irritating when used in pricing ads, but it's only there because train operators are likely to want to specify a plethora of options. However, fundamentally the prices published would buy a "ready to run" passenger vehicle, capable of operating on the UK network and compliant with all standards.

They all look really good, but is there an InterCity EMU like the Pulsar, or can that be done with end doors and a single door opposed to two

 

[Kingfisher200262]

They all look really good, but is there an InterCity EMU like the Pulsar, or can that be done with end doors and a single door opposed to two

Apologies, I didn't see this post until now. Polaris has end doors (in singular), Inter City style. We are now working on a high speed EMU version of Polaris, with passenger seats in all vehicles as opposed to power cars.

Watch this space.

 

[MCR247]

Apologies, I didn't see this post until now. Polaris has end doors (in singular), Inter City style. We are now working on a high speed EMU version of Polaris, with passenger seats in all vehicles as opposed to power cars.

Watch this space.

Sounds good, a shame the no-one has ordered any as of yet..

 

[daikilo]

Sounds good, a shame the no-one has ordered any as of yet..

Not trying to be negative, but let's do a first article inspection first, and then check for patent compliance.

 

[ainsworth74]

Sounds good, a shame the no-one has ordered any as of yet..

Well according to the most recent Rail two are expected to be over in the UK for trials in 2012 and apparently their is a lot of interest in them from several TOC's. So it seems progress is being made towards possible orders, just not quickly.

 

[Kingfisher200262]

Not trying to be negative, but let's do a first article inspection first, and then check for patent compliance.

If you're suggesting that the Chinese have a history of copying others' designs, then this will be an interesting test. Especially as the team that will be developing the trains are all UK engineers and designers, based in the UK.

 

[swt_passenger]

Thank you. Actually, Pacemaker...

Who thought of that name? Did no-one ever think that for 'normals' it is probably more associated with the medical device, than the athlete setting the pace...

How about 'Pacesetter' - or is that already taken?

Another thought though - is it because the industry is so chuffed with Pacers?

 

[Kingfisher200262]

Who thought of that name? Did no-one ever think that for 'normals' it is probably more associated with the medical device, than the athlete setting the pace...

How about 'Pacesetter' - or is that already taken?

Another thought though - is it because the industry is so chuffed with Pacers?

Hmmm, Pacesetter.... not bad!

We coined Pacemaker to be a bit provocative, partly because of the obvious association with the Pacer and partly because of the medical reference. It would be lovely to say that CSR's trains are "keeping the heart of the UK railway beating".

Many people have raised eyebrows about the name... but at least this means they are talking about it, doesn't it?

 

[tbtc]

Who thought of that name? Did no-one ever think that for 'normals' it is probably more associated with the medical device, than the athlete setting the pace...

I doubt many "normals" could tell you what a Voyager/ Sprinter/ Pacer was, to be fair. The only "name" for a train that they'll know will be "Thomas"