Class 365 - are they leaving Govia Thameslink Railway?

[MCR247]

Why would they choose 365s over the 323s or 350s coming spare from further north?

Fair point

 

[MCR247]

When Corby to St.Pancras is electrified and if a 30 minute interval semi-fast service with stops at Kettering, Wellingborough, Bedford, Luton and Luton Airport Parkway is introduced, then 12-car Class 387 would be ideal.



Class 365 could then return to Cambridge and Peterborough services for which they are more suited.

Would there definitely be paths for this to run 2tph? I don't know if there's been anything official yet, but apparently the full Thameslink timetable results in clashes with EMTs, and so one will need to be changed and EMTs could potentially be slowed down. This could make it difficult

 

[43074]

When Corby to St.Pancras is electrified and if a 30 minute interval semi-fast service with stops at Kettering, Wellingborough, Bedford, Luton and Luton Airport Parkway is introduced, then 12-car Class 387 would be ideal.

Class 365 could then return to Cambridge and Peterborough services for which they are more suited.

I wouldn't be surprised if something like this ends up happening at least in the short term - HST disability compliance (by January 2020), the December 2018 Thameslink timetable and the December 2019 'sixth path' timetable all mean that the East Midlands franchise ideally needs new mainline stock, both diesel to replace HSTs and electric for Corby, but new stock probably can't be introduced until December 2020 at the earliest, and that's assuming an announcement will come in July next year when the franchise is awarded, so that's a fun little problem...

Would there definitely be paths for this to run 2tph? I don't know if there's been anything official yet, but apparently the full Thameslink timetable results in clashes with EMTs, and so one will need to be changed and EMTs could potentially be slowed down. This could make it difficult

Off peak there shouldn't be an issue as the fast Thameslink service runs at 4tph now and will do so after December 2018 - the spare path currently is at xx45 from St Pancras - but it's timetabling the increased peak service which is the difficulty.

 

[D365]

When Corby to St.Pancras is electrified and if a 30 minute interval semi-fast service with stops at Kettering, Wellingborough, Bedford, Luton and Luton Airport Parkway is introduced, then 12-car Class 387 would be ideal.

Class 365 could then return to Cambridge and Peterborough services for which they are more suited.

I wouldn't be surprised if something like this ends up happening at least in the short term.

I would be very surprised - the whole point of putting Electrostars on Great Northern was to allow longer trains north of Cambridge, and introduce air conditioning.

Besides, how are the Class 365s 'more suited'? I've been very satisfied with my experience of the Class 387s.

 

[43074]

I would be very surprised - the whole point of putting Electrostars on Great Northern was to allow longer trains north of Cambridge, and introduce air conditioning.

Besides, how are the Class 365s 'more suited'? I've been very satisfied with my experience of the Class 387s.

What would you suggest for the Corby service then?

 

[D365]

What would you suggest for the Corby service then?

Class 379s? There will be plenty of electric stock going spare when the overhead to Corby goes live.

 

[43074]

Class 379s? There will be plenty of electric stock going spare when the overhead to Corby goes live.

Well they would be ideal but the electric service is supposed to start in December 2019 and the 379s don't go off lease from GA until August 2020. (p176 in the link). I agree there will be plenty of stock available, whether or not it is suitable for the job will be another matter.

 

[Class 170101]

Class 365s won't be going back on Cambridge fast services. Isn't the 110mph capability of the 387s being utilised fully on the ECML fast lines?

 

[MCR247]

Are 387s cleared for 110mph on the ECML now? I'm not sure they were originally

 

[MML]

I would be very surprised - the whole point of putting Electrostars on Great Northern was to allow longer trains north of Cambridge, and introduce air conditioning.

Besides, how are the Class 365s 'more suited'? I've been very satisfied with my experience of the Class 387s.

I thought comments on the forum had indicated the Class 365s have more seats than the replacement Class 387s.
And surely lengthened Class 365 are possible north of Cambridge too.
When boarding an 8-car from Cambridge at Hitchin, it was always packed and could have done with more capacity for the onward journey to KX.

 

[D365]

And surely lengthened Class 365 are possible north of Cambridge too.

They don't have SDO or cab-end gangways.

 

[MCR247]

Really can't see 387s leaving GN

 

[ChrisHogan]

Why would they choose 365s over the 323s or 350s coming spare from further north?

Because 45 extra diagrammed 323 vehicles and 36 extra diagrammed 350 vehicles won't be sufficient electric vehicles for the duration of the WM franchise. The total number of extra diagrammed vehicles specified by the DfT is 137. That's only 81.

However we think one of the bidders (Abellio?) at least is proposing the option of a high-spec. electric fleet for the West Midlands listed in the ITT with probable 2020-1 delivery. The other bidder might well go for 365s or 360s, or perhaps 321s (on the better the devil you know principle).

 

[adrock1976]

As it is the timetable change today, are there still some Class 365s running out of London KX?

Also as a point of information, I have managed to get all of my requirements for haulage, with the exception of 365520.

 

[D365]

As it is the timetable change today, are there still some Class 365s running out of London KX?

Eh? None of the Class 365s are being withdrawn from Great Northern yet. And at least 19 units will definitely be surviving after 2018.

 

[Ianno87]

The 387s that have come in have basically replaced 317s and 321s for the time being, with a small uplift in overall fleet size.

The timetable change today has basically swaps the 'typical' 365 and 387 duties around. 387s now on Cambridge/King's Lynn fasts, 365s on stoppers and Peterboroughs as a general (but not hard-and-fast) rule.

365s won't start disappearing until 700s start to dribble into service on GN routes.

 

[adrock1976]

I was under the impression that 21 of the fleet would be leaving Govia Thameslink Railway from today.

Is it actually May 2018 that they will be leaving?

 

[D365]

I was under the impression that 21 of the fleet would be leaving Govia Thameslink Railway from today.

Definitely not, the 29 Class 387s are only enough to replace the 25-strong Class 317/321 fleet.