350/2s to Northern?

[mememachine175]

I've just seen this path shared in a Facebook group apparently for a 350 doing a test run to Glossop.

Following this path back to Crewe it seems to come up from Wembley.

Anyone know if there's any truth to this?

Realtime Trains | 5Q13 1904 Manchester Piccadilly to Hadfield | 27/07/2025

Real-time train running information for 5Q13 1904 departure from Manchester Piccadilly to Hadfield on 27/07/2025. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

 

[Carnforth_24]

I’d be amazed if the 350/2s ended up with Northern. They’re likely to be converted to tri-mode EMUs for SWR to replace their 158s and 159s. Maybe.

 

[Liam L]

I've just seen this path shared in a Facebook group apparently for a 350 doing a test run to Glossop.

Following this path back to Crewe it seems to come up from Wembley.

Anyone know if there's any truth to this?

Realtime Trains | 5Q13 1904 Manchester Piccadilly to Hadfield | 27/07/2025

Real-time train running information for 5Q13 1904 departure from Manchester Piccadilly to Hadfield on 27/07/2025. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

I believe Northern have done a trial run with a 350 around stoke a few months back, nothing has been said since and the unit returned to storage a few days after that.

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

I’d be amazed if the 350/2s ended up with Northern. They’re likely to be converted to tri-mode EMUs for SWR to replace their 158s and 159s. Maybe.

Says who? Porterbrook 350/2s to SWR is such an age old suggestion, but logistically, it doesn’t make sense.

The 450s are part of an enormous fleet of Angel Trains Desiros at SWR. As it stands, when all of the 701s arrive, there will be too many anyway.

The 458s have just been refurbished by Porterbrook who I can’t see wanting to discard them in favour of going through it all again with another of their fleets instead. They have no long term future while the 15x fleet is operational.

If anything is to become tri-mode, it makes sense for it to be some of the large 450 fleet, with any gaps then plugged by retaining the currently future-less 458 fleet. Or, some of the 701/5s if not required.

This is all speculative though and is better discussed here:

Future of the 350/2s

With the class 730s introduction into service imminent, and plans announced for everything they're replacing, nothing has been announced for the 350/2s. What do you think could happen to them?

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