However it's already been mentioned on this thread (I think by yourself) that 16 of the 225's could run on the GEML replacing the existing (and frankly knackered) mk3 stock. As others have mentioned Chiltern might be interested in taking some and the rest would go off lease.
No, not me... Others have suggested it though
I really don't understand why this appears to be beyond your comprehension.
Do you have to be so rude - your tone is offensive, pack it in !
Excuse me? A typical stopping service from St Pancras to Derby will run fast to Leicester before making station calls at Loughborough, East Midlands Parkway, Long Eaton and then Derby. There is not a service on the ECML that even comes close to being compared to that and a 225 would have no chance of keeping up with a Meridian.
Currently EMT typically run five trains per hour out of St Pancras, I'm a little perplexed that you can't see similar profiles between ECML and MML - long run from London at speed followed by several successive stops
Not only that but it’s been suggested on this forum that on certain services on the ECML (I think Leeds to Kings Cross) a class 90 is able to keep time. I think that tells you all you need to know about the acceleration capabilities of a class 91.
A quick Google suggests that a 225 formation and a Voyager (not that dissimilar to a meridian) both accelarate to 125mph in just over 5 minutes - perhaps someone from Railperf could confirm this.
If ROSCO is prepared to invest in a new fleet of electric loco's you can bet your bottom dollar that it thinks it will find enough work for the lifetime of the asset. Once the mk4's are no longer required the locos will either replace the remaining class 86's / 90's or they will be leased overseas.
That assumes that Eversholt feel that the Class 91's are unfit for further use - if you've evidence for that, perhaps you could share.
Do you seriously believe that a leasing company would agree to buy a fleet of locos without previously checking that they could haul existing rolling stock?
That's not what I said - my point is that we don't actually have a garunteed working solution alternative for the Class 91's - people have suggested Traxx, but what evidence is there that it will perform well with the Mk4 carriages, it might have more power, but how's that delivered, how will that effect the Mk4's, what sort of track load would Traxx create, will the overhead cables be able to deliver enough juice, the dynamics of the power connection... I'm sure there's people on here who have more knowledge of these factors, but given the pre-testing that goes into introducing a new train, you can't just buy a loco from Europe and expect it to work.
The MML south of Leicester is a busy railway so I'm not sure how you expect to fit in another two services between St Pancras and Leicester on top of the current timetable.
As said above, five EMT services per hour, plus 7-12 FCC services across two lines in each direction, gradually getting quieter as you head north. Sounds like ample space to me.
