Yes, but the mainstay is still 150s. Also, Leeds to Wigan does sometimes suffer from dwell time issues, as it is a stopping service operated with 158s, especially if the train guard/driver is on the slow side, so I doubt running 158s over 150s would be beneficial.
At what point does the better performance of the 158s offset the slower loading compared to a 150?
A 158's acceleration at low speed isn't much better than a 15X. The difference is only when you get faster, which doesn't happen on stopping services.
Linespeeds aren't high enough/stops aren't far apart enough to offset the slower loading on many lines.
Interesting - is there a thread for the GWR fleet replacement?DfT procurement pipeline spreadsheet has recently been updated (on 19th February) and appears GWR fleet expected to be replaced 2029-2031 and Northerns at slightly slower pace to 2032
However DfT indicative target dates often seem to be more a ballpark timeframe flexible by few years than definite plan.
Nothing appears for East Midlands or SWR so presumably both are expected to get hand me downs from other lines as their replacements
Future commercial contracts for DfT and partners
Listing of upcoming Department for Transport (DfT) and associated bodies commercial contracts – known as the commercial pipeline – for which bidders may apply.www.gov.uk
Just re-read the latest (19th February) version of DfT procurement spreadsheet.
lot 2 has 400 vehicles, I think Northern has slightly more than 400 15x (including 158s), but not including 170 and 195 diesels. Although with Transpennine route electrification some diesels might be replaced by existing spare EMUs
Northern have (by my maths) 201 15x units, with 412 carriages total.
I presume something will replace the 769s at some point.
There are 8 769s totalling 32 carriages
From the (GBR) May timetable all services west of Salisbury except the first up and several late evening services are 6-car. This is long overdue as overcrowding was very common on daytime 3-car services. Whilst Paddington is understandably more popular from Exeter, there are many passengers travelling to Waterloo from East Devon and Dorset stations. Local traffic to / from Exeter Central also requires 6-car units on many services.
Logically, it would make sense to have a larger order of the same sort of trains for multiple operators, as it could drive the build cost down.
Indeed, I remember this being discussed a bit when Northern's order was first made (but that now is clearly all just for Northern).
| Procurement of rolling stock for Thames Valley / North Downs and West (including options) | Replacement of all existing DMUs (and possibly EMUs), excluding the IET fleet, with Battery Electric Multiple Units (BEMUs) and/or diesel multi-mode units. Potential for this procurement to include units for other non-GWR routes. |
Is it GWR's problem given the movement to GBR in the not too distant future? Presumably any decision is going to depend on the Treasury funding being released, and that needs to wait for the November budget? Or am I wrong?
While I see the "parts" (and very much support new trains), aren't the aluminium bodyshells of the 158s/159s/165s/166s supposed to not corrode like the steel ones of the 150s/175s do?
Aluminium is one of the more corrosion-resistant metals, but it will still corrode especially if exposed to salts and pollutants or subjected to stress or abrasion.
Ah OK, thanks.
The aluminium will corrode (rather than rust), but unlike an all steel construction, it is not easy to replace a piece of aluminium panel.
Ah right yeah, thanks.
In the case of salts, salt water is a particular factor in aluminium corrosion, so for the railway context we have the double whammy of the coastal routes - particularly Dawlish - and the salts used on platforms in icy conditions.
The generally "inland" SWR 159s may perhaps be in better condition than the GWR 158s then?
They're also the last built aren't they, so marginally younger - although while they will have mostly avoided the sea spray ( didn't they used to run to Paignton? ) there's still all the salts used on platforms in winter that they will have been exposed to aren't there?
I would assume platform salt would be less significant than road salt, because the trains is exposed to less than a vehicle on the road would be.
The 159/0s were the last-built. The /1s are a bit older as they were originally part of the Trans-Pennine 158 fleet- so whilst they won't have run beyond Exeter for SWT/SWR they did run to Scarborough and Hull (plus short-lived extensions to Bridlington). I think they saw occasional use to Blackpool too in Northern Spirit/Arriva Trains Northern days.
As far as age is concerned - a single digit difference in years is neither here nor there when considering bodyshell condition.
It's nearly five years between the oldest and youngest vehicles, though.