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Tracks and track circuits. The 10 cars are too long for several operational reasons - hence why the extra 9 cars were ordered rather than extra 5’s. Stuart Baker didn’t “do” track and signalling. He assumed that if you could fit a train or the accessible parts of a train onto the platform, it...

I don’t think the DfT want them for any of their operations, given the expense and their (so far) less than reliable service. If Scotland or Wales don’t want them, they are going abroad.

Yes, but if it isn’t on their current competencies and isn’t covered via the traction policy, that’s it. In that situation once they had signed 802 units, they would have had to have worked them again within a set period of time to retain competency.

On todays railway, if it is a different class and it’s not on your current competencies, it’s a retraining job - it has nothing to do with any Owning Group. The cabs could be totally identical but that doesn’t matter when it comes to having to do either the training or re-training.

Duty numbers. The 15xx is on No 2 pilot at the Oak which usually worked a number of ECS (or “ups and downs” in WR speak) between Paddington and Old Oak as well as doing some shunting duties. There were quite a number of pilot and shunt duties at the Oak - the Carriage Shed and associated...

They actually are the best of the voyager breed - you don’t have the stinky toilet smell in the coach and they don’t half motor, even with an engine out. Terrific acceleration too - the HT ones used to regularly get let out in front of the 91’s because they would always stay well away from them...

Not quite. The DfT assumption was that the 222 sets would come off the MML for services to Devon and Cornwall so when it came to a bid comparator, 16 sets of refurbished HST would have to be retained instead. I don’t think at that stage power doors was mentioned but I haven’t retained my papers...

The cause was no driver available to work 1J93.

No, please don’t introduce a third set length onto GWR! It then becomes more of an operational and maintenance headache because of the interworking and the shed layouts. You need to protect your step ups and step downs as well. Also a 7 car is not the solution for the North Cots. You want...

No, the 5 cars would be mainly operating as 10 cars, with 5 cars on the Cardiff to Penzance corridor and the odd, occasional lighter working on the North and South Cots. The only London departing service that requires a 5 would be a Bedwyn but 10 cars are too long for the North Cots (track...

The difference is that the GWR fleet have a harder duty cycle, are the oldest and have diesel engines operating at the higher end of their capability range. The depots that Hitachi use seem to be capacity constrained and no amount of extra stock is going to help here, hence why Ponsandane is so...

The 802 sets are on a train supply agreement from Hitachi - it is not a maintenance contract. The 802 sets receive their 36 day exams mainly at LA but for heavier work they still have to go to Stoke Gifford or North Pole and that isn’t changing. The IEP contracts also have very restrictive...

If you are contemplating EMU sets to replace 800/802 sets on GWR, you would have to renegotiate all the IEP contracts because you can’t “sub lease” sets because they are not on a lease to begin with. It’s a train supply agreement, the supply being from nominated depots, three of which are...

Say no more! That will be the result of the apportionments then - WR IC had a poor grasp of what really should be costed to which route - it all tended to get lumped into sub sector 1.07 and jam spread out by location and cost centre to one route. Not a great way to monitor your business.

As a former WR Area Finance Manager, I would say that article was wrong. At best a puff piece for someone, at worst someone was manipulating the infrastructure costs (which would have been attributed to sub sector in those days). There is no way that could have been correct, given the revenue...

Actually, it was 5 from Plymouth to Penzance, except in high summer, when 9 or 10 should have taken place on most of the trains because there would have been the equivalent of two extra 5 cars cycling between Plymouth and Penzance. But Hitachi fell short on that one. Snow1964, the DfT plan was...

You would have to be mad to order replacement trains on your existing TAA without getting your extension in place first. That’s your key to getting more than five years, if you play it right. You also need a decent length in your TAA to get the rolling stock market and their financiers interested.

Yes, I do know how profitable Hull Trains is but that’s not something that is going to be published on here, or indeed going outside FG because there are strict stock market rules on trading disclosures.

Also, the simple fact was that the number of passengers weren’t there, at that time, to justify a 7 car fleet.

Please stop - this is not what Hitachi is saying to potential customers, like me. Please also stop this idea that Arriva will replace their fleet as one - it will not happen like that because each TOC will be seen differently by the DfT and also the lease end dates will probably be different...