CrossCountry Voyager Refreshment *Purely Speculation*

[JonathanH]

It may work technically but it was basically useless on the XC network. Presumably Virgin were planning to use it more extensively.

More of the fleet had to be fitted with tilt than would ever be working the relevant routes at any point in time. The Tilt transponders were fitted at some point in the Churwell Valley for a while which always struck me as odd since it seemed likely that this route would predominantly be worked by 220s.

 

[virgintrain1]

They really weren't. Cheap and nasty was the verdict at the time - very Virgin brand. The impracticalities of the internal layout were immediately obvious. The trains managed the rare feat of having comparatively few seats per coach, yet simultaneously being very cramped and having virtually no useable luggage space. They're like a tardis in reverse.

Individual reading lights and window blinds were welcome additions. Innovations like the on-train audio entertainment were quickly dispensed with.

Mechanically, the trains seem to be OK. The amount of diesel power means they accelerate quickly compared to previous generations of diesel. But the claim that the trains would be as quiet as loco-hauled was quickly found not to be the case. The tilting function on the 221s was an expensive failure and abandoned.

Personally, I find them OK if not heavily loaded. Unfortunately that is rarely the case.

Also no train should smell of wee. That's a fairly basic requirement in my view.

However, provided the underlying mechanicals are still in good order, there's nothing that can't be solved by taking the interior back to the bare metal shell and doing a complete refurb.

Actually the RPC Virgin Voyager Report - Sept 2004 found > nine in ten of the 1,030 passengers questioned gave positive feedback about their Virgin Voyager experience.

 

[D6130]

More of the fleet had to be fitted with tilt than would ever be working the relevant routes at any point in time. The Tilt transponders were fitted at some point in the Churwell Valley for a while which always struck me as odd since it seemed likely that this route would predominantly be worked by 220s.

IIRC, the Cherwell Valley Line, between Oxford and Aynho Junction, was chosen by Virgin and Railtrack as the test bed for the tilting technology on the Voyagers....largely because of its continuous reverse curves, which limited line speed to 75 mph for conventional trains. I believe that the tilt was used for a few years, but was abandoned because Cross-Country didn't want to pay for the maintenance of the balises. (Anecdotal evidence - open to correction if necessary).

 

[JonathanH]

I believe that the tilt was used for a few years, but was abandoned because Cross-Country didn't want to pay for the maintenance of the balises. (Anecdotal evidence - open to correction if necessary).

Neither of course did they need to maintain it with no timetable differentiation between 220s and 221s and no chance of dedicating the tilting units to the route because the 5-car units had to be allocated on the basis of demand across all parts of the X.

 

[quantinghome]

Neither of course did they need to maintain it with no timetable differentiation between 220s and 221s and no chance of dedicating the tilting units to the route because the 5-car units had to be allocated on the basis of demand across all parts of the X.

It's one example of the overall strategic failure of Virgin XC.

 

[Senex]

It may work technically but it was basically useless on the XC network. Presumably Virgin were planning to use it more extensively.


Indeed - and what a hit. 52 seats. An old-style Mark 3 carriage was the same 23m length yet had 76 seats (not all table seats, but decently spaced nonetheless).

The idea was, proposed under the original notions of franchising and relations between franchisees and Railtrack, that considerably more of the XC network would be upgraded for higher speeds, including significantly more use of tilt. I think the only bit that actually got done before the disasters was Oxford to Banbury.

 

[43096]

The idea was, proposed under the original notions of franchising and relations between franchisees and Railtrack, that considerably more of the XC network would be upgraded for higher speeds, including significantly more use of tilt. I think the only bit that actually got done before the disasters was Oxford to Banbury.

It was still a nonsense either way. If more infrastructure was to be upgraded for tilt then the 220s would have still been running at the lower speeds. It needed either all the fleet to be tilt-capable or none of it.

 

[MarkyT]

IIRC, the Cherwell Valley Line, between Oxford and Aynho Junction, was chosen by Virgin and Railtrack as the test bed for the tilting technology on the Voyagers....largely because of its continuous reverse curves, which limited line speed to 75 mph for conventional trains. I believe that the tilt was used for a few years, but was abandoned because Cross-Country didn't want to pay for the maintenance of the balises. (Anecdotal evidence - open to correction if necessary).

More importantly, even with the special enhanced speed enabled by the onboard tilt equipment and balises, the 221s could still not beat 220 performance unless some stops were omitted compared to the traditional calling pattern. This is because they are about 20% heavier with their outside frame bogies, but have the same installed power, so their acceleration is limited. Tilt was a waste of money in the first place and an ongoing waste of fuel ever since the tilt was disabled. It had some use on the northern reaches of the WCML where the Voyagers shared track with Pendolinos, but that section was removed from the XC franchise, so they decided to remove the equipment from their part of the fleet. The tilting capability was retained on those trains remaining with Virgin, of course.

 

[MattRat]

Haven't they needed TLC for about a decade or so?