Varamis Rail Class 321s & 325s”

[Royston Vasey]

I thought they were bought by Freightliner?

The source on the Wikipedia article stating Varamis have six is: Butlin, Ashley (May 2025). "Multiple Units". Stock Update. The Railway Magazine. Vol. 171, no. 1490. p. 79.

...if anyone can oblige?

 

[GEC465]

The source on the Wikipedia article stating Varamis have six is: Butlin, Ashley (May 2025). "Multiple Units". Stock Update. The Railway Magazine. Vol. 171, no. 1490. p. 79.

...if anyone can oblige?

Guessing buy 325s probably discounted then chop the 321s or something

 

[Skimpot flyer]

There were 6 former Royal Mail 325s parked in PRDC. Some grey vinyls had been applied to some of the units, but work ceased abruptly and this would seem to tie-in with Varamis being the buyer and the fact they’ve put their people on furlough until September.

 

[800001]

Services booked and scheduled to run tonight, keep your eyes open

 

[Royston Vasey]

1M04 is on the move, currently at Tebay

 

[MotCO]

Services booked and scheduled to run tonight, keep your eyes open

From where to where?

 

[sad1e]

From where to where?

Realtime Trains | 1M04 1734 Mossend Down Yard to Birmingham International | 05/08/2025

Real-time train running information for 1M04 1734 departure from Mossend Down Yard to Birmingham International on 05/08/2025. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

 

[Skimpot flyer]

Did it continue on from Birmingham, to Willesden (PRDC) ?
The Platform and arrival / departure times seem to indicate it

Realtime Trains | 5Y04 2240 Birmingham International to Willesden Prdc | 05/08/2025

Real-time train running information for 5Y04 2240 departure from Birmingham International to Willesden Prdc on 05/08/2025. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

 

[Class15]

Did it continue on from Birmingham, to Willesden (PRDC) ?
The Platform and arrival / departure times seem to indicate it

Realtime Trains | 5Y04 2240 Birmingham International to Willesden Prdc | 05/08/2025

Real-time train running information for 5Y04 2240 departure from Birmingham International to Willesden Prdc on 05/08/2025. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

Yes - 321428 and 321429 worked both.

 

[87015]

Yes - 321428 and 321429 worked both.

Maps show them punted straight onto the line of other demics in railnet receptions.

 

[Class15]

Maps show them punted straight onto the line of other demics in railnet receptions.

Oh dear! That didn’t last long…

 

[800001]

Oh dear! That didn’t last long…

So you think they are finished again just because of where they parked?

 

[Suraggu]

RTT shows the following for tomorrow:

0J72 0629 Wembley Loco Sidings P,q,r to Willesden Railnet Receptn:

Realtime Trains | 0J72 0629 Wembley Loco Sidings P,q,r to Willesden Railnet Receptn | 07/08/2025

Real-time train running information for 0J72 0629 departure from Wembley Loco Sidings P,q,r to Willesden Railnet Receptn on 07/08/2025. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

5Q76 0820 Willesden Railnet Receptn to Newport Docks (Simsgroup):

Realtime Trains | 5Q76 0820 Willesden Railnet Receptn to Newport Docks (Simsgroup) | 07/08/2025

Real-time train running information for 5Q76 0820 departure from Willesden Railnet Receptn to Newport Docks (Simsgroup) on 07/08/2025. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

Second times the charm and all that. Doesn’t seem coincidental though, the two from Mossend arriving at Wembley this morning when tomorrow there is a planned final trip for at least one cl321.

 

[_toommm_]

Varamis vows to fight on after pausing operations amid safety and financial concerns

High-speed freight operator owes money to Network Rail and DB Cargo UK, but has denied entering administration.

www.railmagazine.com

The founder of Varamis Rail is adamant that the freight operator will survive, after it ceased operations until September.

Rumours swirled in late July that the company had entered administration, which Varamis Managing Director Phil Read has denied.

However, Network Rail is owed several periods of unpaid track access charges - thought to be approximately £600,000, which will not be repaid if services don’t resume. If Varamis does restart, NR is understood to want a payment plan in place.

Varamis hasn’t operated a train since June 19, after DB Cargo UK (DBC) served a termination notice the following day preventing the parcels operator from using the platform it leases at Mossend.

Read told RAIL that DBC’s notice said the platform was “unsafe” and would be out of action “with immediate effect”, something which “blindsided” management.

“They didn’t talk to us. They didn’t tell us when the inspection was being made,” he said.

“If we had taken goods that night, we’d have had to cancel that service.”

RAIL understands that DBC was surprised at the suggestion that it caught Varamis unaware with the inspection and subsequent termination notice, and that there are operational safety concerns that need addressing along with corrosion issues with the platform itself.

RAIL was also told that Varamis owes money to DBC (understood to be more than £10,000). That debt, along with confirmation of new safety practices and remedial action on the platform, must be resolved before Varamis services can use Mossend again.

Meanwhile, claims that a prohibition notice had been served against the operator by the Office of Rail and Road, for breaching safety rules, have been denied by both the regulator and Varamis.

Read admitted that Varamis had been “burning a considerable amount of cash for a while”, and said the pause in operations would allow senior management to “stop and reflect”.

Apart from a handful of employees, staff have been placed on unpaid furlough. Read said everyone was “on zero hours”.

“It’s not ideal. It’s not something I wanted to happen, but we’ve got to make decisions that are in the best interests of the company,” he said.

He continued that there was “good will” within the company, and that staff will be back on a permanent basis when services restart.

Read said the problems facing Varamis have been down to a lack of growth, rather than costs.

“(The customers) are all really happy with the service, but have not been able to drive the volume through the trains that would make us break even,” he told RAIL.


“We’ve not seen the increase we thought we would. The customers never scaled up as quickly as they told us they would.”

He remained hopeful that the autumn will bring more traffic in the build-up to Christmas, saying: “We hope to keep talking to the customers we have, and to talk to new customers .”

During its hiatus, Varamis has raised more funds to continue trading.

Read is also confident that Varamis will retain its paths. Network Rail can declare a ‘Failure to Use’ if they are unused for 13 consecutive weeks, but Read told RAIL he would be “really disappointed” if that happened.
"There are lots of paths on the West Coast Main Line that have gone well beyond 13 weeks . We won’t reach 13 weeks.”

Regarding high-speed freight more widely, he added: “I’ve done all I can for the railway to bring in this new market. We’ve been running proof of concept for the last two and a half years. Costs of high-speed freight are more competitive than other forms of rail freight.

“I appreciate all the support we have had from Network Rail. Without that we would not be where we are.”

A Network Rail spokesman added: “We’ve been working closely with Varamis to try and keep their business moving by rail, and are committed to building rail freight across Britain’s rail network.”

Read also confirmed that Varamis had “rescued” the remaining former Royal Mail Class 325 electric multiple units from being scrapped.

Nine were taken to Newport in late 2024 for cutting up, leaving six which remain at Willesden PRDC.

He disputed suggestions that the operator wanted to dispose of any of its ten Class 321s.

And he envisages the ‘325s’ being used in the South East if it expands into that area, with the ‘321s’ being needed for other routes such as the East Coast.

 

[Royston Vasey]

Lots to unpack there. Seems to be a thorough piece of journalism and a fair chance for Phil Read to set the record straight. The rising costs of traction electricity blamed by the CFO in the Telegraph article are replaced by a number of other organisations being blamed, including their own customers. Read seems to refute Livingstone's claim of rising costs, or that's how the journalist has presented it.

That debt to Network Rail, as rumoured in this thread some weeks ago, is substantial, and repeating the fantasy claims of South East 325 operation don't do themselves many favours, in my opinion. And paths from Willesden PRDC to Newport Sims suggests the penultimate claim of no plans to dispose of units may not emerge to be true either. 16 units incurring storage costs with no income seems lavish.

 

[Suraggu]

Varamis vows to fight on after pausing operations amid safety and financial concerns

High-speed freight operator owes money to Network Rail and DB Cargo UK, but has denied entering administration.

www.railmagazine.com

Did Mr Reed take inspiration from ‘the pink shirted one’ for this interview?

Delusion comes to mind.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 6 Aug 2025 ==

And paths from Willesden PRDC to Newport Sims suggests the penultimate claim of no plans to dispose of units may not emerge to be true either. 16 units incurring storage costs with no income seems lavish.

He is clearly not telling the truth because why would a business bid for paths for moves on two separate occasions to take those Cl321’s to scrap?

 

[87015]

He is clearly lying because why would business bid for paths for moves on two occasions to move those Cl321’s.

They are ROG paths, not Varamis

 

[Suraggu]

They are ROG paths, not Varamis

Never said they were Varamis paths.

 

[Bertie the bus]

So you think they are finished again just because of where they parked?

I doubt they have restarted. Last night's move was almost certainly just moving the units from Scotland to Wembley either for onward movement for scrap or because they've been told to get them out of Mossend Yard.

 

[DBS92042]

RTT shows the following for tomorrow:

0J72 0629 Wembley Loco Sidings P,q,r to Willesden Railnet Receptn:

Realtime Trains | 0J72 0629 Wembley Loco Sidings P,q,r to Willesden Railnet Receptn | 07/08/2025

Real-time train running information for 0J72 0629 departure from Wembley Loco Sidings P,q,r to Willesden Railnet Receptn on 07/08/2025. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

5Q76 0820 Willesden Railnet Receptn to Newport Docks (Simsgroup):

Realtime Trains | 5Q76 0820 Willesden Railnet Receptn to Newport Docks (Simsgroup) | 07/08/2025

Real-time train running information for 5Q76 0820 departure from Willesden Railnet Receptn to Newport Docks (Simsgroup) on 07/08/2025. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

Second times the charm and all that. Doesn’t seem coincidental though, the two from Mossend arriving at Wembley this morning when tomorrow there is a planned final trip for at least one cl321.

Unless a ROG loco is already at Wembley, 0H73 from Derby RTC today doesn't seem to be running so a possibility 0J72/5Q76 won't run either...

 

[Skimpot flyer]

There is at least one unit in the Inter City sidings visible from Stonebridge Park station.
Couldn’t tell from a distance if it is a 321 or the 325 - in silver vinyls - that left Platform 1 at PRDC on Monday.

Will try to get a look tomorrow

 

[apinnard]

Did Mr Reed take inspiration from ‘the pink shirted one’ for this interview?

Which one? Not the infamous Adrian Parcell, surely?

 

[Suraggu]

Unless a ROG loco is already at Wembley, 0H73 from Derby RTC today doesn't seem to be running so a possibility 0J72/5Q76 won't run either...

Appears not according to a pool code check on the ‘black box’.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 6 Aug 2025 ==

Which one? Not the infamous Adrian Parcell, surely?

I’m saying nothing .

 

[800001]

I doubt they have restarted. Last night's move was almost certainly just moving the units from Scotland to Wembley either for onward movement for scrap or because they've been told to get them out of Mossend Yard.

Why run as a class 1? Just run ecs then if that's the case!

 

[Bertie the bus]

Because the path exists. What would be the point of entering a new path when there already is one? They've been told they can't use the Mossend terminal, they've put their staff on unpaid leave and they've publicly stated they won't operate any service until at least September so those trump a headcode.

 

[800001]

Because the path exists. What would be the point of entering a new path when there already is one? They've been told they can't use the Mossend terminal, they've put their staff on unpaid leave and they've publicly stated they won't operate any service until at least September so those trump a headcode.

Change head code to a class 5, it really is that simple.
Also of just living units to London, run it as one head code all the way, again, it really is that simple.
It doesn't take much for a signaller to change a code from a class 1 to a class 5. One phone call is all it take, no new path needed.

 

[Class15]

Change head code to a class 5, it really is that simple.
Also of just living units to London, run it as one head code all the way, again, it really is that simple.
It doesn't take much for a signaller to change a code from a class 1 to a class 5. One phone call is all it take, no new path needed.

Exactly. If it was ECS it would be a Class 5 service. It was a Class 1 so, even if a one-off, it was a carrying service. Unless I’m completely wrong of course but my experience is that it would be changed to a Class 5.

 

[Bertie the bus]

Do you really think the headcode of a unit move is the most important thing to Varamis at the moment? They are massively in debt, they can't use their loading/unloading terminal, they have had to put all their staff on unpaid leave and the future of the company is in serious doubt but all of that pales into insignificance compared to whether a train runs as a Class 1 or Class 5. Seriously?

 

[Class15]

Do you really think the headcode of a unit move is the most important thing to Varamis at the moment? They are massively in debt, they can't use their loading/unloading terminal, they have had to put all their staff on unpaid leave and the future of the company is in serious doubt but all of that pales into insignificance compared to whether a train runs as a Class 1 or Class 5. Seriously?

It is not the most important but a Class 1 service would not, normally, be an ECS working.

 

[800001]

Do you really think the headcode of a unit move is the most important thing to Varamis at the moment? They are massively in debt, they can't use their loading/unloading terminal, they have had to put all their staff on unpaid leave and the future of the company is in serious doubt but all of that pales into insignificance compared to whether a train runs as a Class 1 or Class 5. Seriously?

The railway operates on set rules, where a company has furloughed staff etc is irrelevant.