Ideas for replacement trains on West Highland Line???

[gingerheid]

Flirts, but with fuel tanks?

 

[JonathanH]

rural services which are used mostly by tourists

The problem is that these rural services are used mostly by tourists in season and locals all year round leading to different issues in providing the service at different times of the year.

On the Fort William to Mallaig section of route there is already an operation which has premium fares and caters for tourists with special rolling stock. There is good reason why people will pay the premium to travel on this as a "day out". The rest of the service on the West Highland Line is, however, more about getting people to a destination. While £40 return can be charged for a day return from Fort William to Mallaig on the Jacobite, I'm not sure a fare of over £100 for Glasgow to Fort William or £40 from Crianlarich to Oban is viable.

Most people consider that taking the Caledonian Sleeper out of the Scotrail franchise has led to inefficiencies in staffing and operational costs on the 'diesel bits'. I'm not sure dragging units to Crewe for servicing is going to make a lot of sense. It makes much more sense for this to be done in Glasgow as part of an integrated Scotrail franchise.

 

[gingertom]

Flirts, but with fuel tanks?

Well because of the line speeds I don't think there's a need for 4 car sets to be equipped with 4 engines- 2 engines will keep to 40mph no problem, with fuel economy to match. The space vacated by a pair of engines could perhaps have long range tanks. Or batteries to recover energy during braking, and give a starting acceleration and/or hill-climbing boost. It all helps.

 

[popeter45]

is there even an option for gangwayed Flirts?

 

[Journeyman]

Well because of the line speeds I don't think there's a need for 4 car sets to be equipped with 4 engines- 2 engines will keep to 40mph no problem, with fuel economy to match. The space vacated by a pair of engines could perhaps have long range tanks. Or batteries to recover energy during braking, and give a starting acceleration and/or hill-climbing boost. It all helps.

You need much higher speeds than that between Glasgow and Craigendoran to fit in with other traffic, but if you operate them in electric mode you'll be alright.

ScotRail has committed to get rid of diesels by 2035. I'm not sure if that includes bi-modes, but I've a feeling it does.

 

[gingertom]

is there even an option for gangwayed Flirts?

not so sure about that but it can't be impossible. So long as they don't hire the same designer as Hitachi did for the 385

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 14 Feb 2021 ==

You need much higher speeds than that between Glasgow and Craigendoran to fit in with other traffic, but if you operate them in electric mode you'll be alright.

ScotRail has committed to get rid of diesels by 2035. I'm not sure if that includes bi-modes, but I've a feeling it does.

Battery electric would work if range anxiety can be overcome. Small sections of OLE at stations en route for a quick top up during stops and termini would go a long way to alleviate. Rannoch Moor is the last place I'd want to be stranded without power.

 

[Journeyman]

not so sure about that but it can't be impossible. So long as they don't hire the same designer as Hitachi did for the 385

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 14 Feb 2021 ==


Battery electric would work if range anxiety can be overcome. Small sections of OLE at stations en route for a quick top up during stops and termini would go a long way to alleviate. Rannoch Moor is the last place I'd want to be stranded without power.

That's the sort of thing you'd want an emergency generator for.

 

[route101]

Maybe a stadler. Class 158s feel more hemmed in with views more limited than the class 156s.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Maybe a stadler. Class 158s feel more hemmed in with views more limited than the class 156s.

Depends on the seats, really - one of the few downsides of the Grammer IC3000 is that it is very high backed with a large headrest so can be a bit claustrophobic, perhaps the E3000 would be a better choice. The windows are laid out for seats to be aligned to them so the view should overall be better than a 156.

 

[gingertom]

Hitachi have been quick to champion battery/electric units as suitable for discontinuous electrification projects. I'd expect them to come up with a variant of the 385 with battery packs. For the long distances and journey times involved with the WHL/FNL I hope the seating is more appropriate for the purpose, but let's not drag the thread down the seats path.