July 2019 •The Railway Magazine•TRAIN operator Abellio has begun
outlining its plans in a series of
briefings to stakeholders ahead
of when it takes over the East
Midlands franchise from August 18.
Abellio will brand the franchise
East Midland Railway (EMR),
introduce a new deep purple
livery for its trains, and have three
distinct strands – EMR Intercity,
EMR Electric and EMR Regional.
In replacing Stagecoach, which
has operated trains for almost
12 years, Abellio is proposing a
gradual replacement of the entire
current fleet by December 2022.
First units to go will be the Class
153s, which will be replaced by
Class 156 units within the first six
months of the franchise.These
sets will probably come from
Abellio’s Greater Anglia franchise,
with the eight Class 170s also
likely to move to the
East Midlands.
Withdrawing HST sets from
frontline service will begin from
May 2020 and be complete by
the December, which suggests
a short-term derogation for
forthcoming disability legislative
changes from January 1, 2020.
Abellio has not yet indicated what
will replace them, but HullTrains
Class 180s will be available.
For the electric service from
St Pancras to Corby, due to start in
THE Campaign for Borders Rail
(CBR) says electrification of
the Borders Railway south to
Tweedbank could deliver major
acceleration of trains and a higher
frequency – but only if some
essential track upgrades are
delivered at the same time.
The CBR was responding to
an announcement byTransport
Scotland that it is considering
electrification of the line, with
the campaign group adding
electrification could double the
frequency of trains between
Edinburgh and Gorebridge, but
reduce the journey time from
Edinburgh toTweedbank by using
‘limited stop’trains to under 45
minutes.
SimonWalton, chairman of CBR,
explained:“We had anticipated
that electrification of the Borders
line might emerge as an option
for consideration, particularly as
the line is‘electric-ready’, with
sufficient clearance for wires under
bridges and through tunnels.
“However, it won’t be possible
to run faster trains unless other
improvements are made, so we’ve
done a great deal of work to draw
up proposals which will ensure
electrification brings maximum
advantages.”
The CBR wants Network Rail to
implement the already planned
upgrade of Portobello Junction
in Edinburgh, including a second
platform at Brunstane station, to
allow trains to pass there, plus two
other improvements further down
the line.
Campaign member RobertDrysdale describes the work
needed as“modest”compared
to that required to electrify the
Edinburgh/Glasgow to Dunblane
line, with a mile of doubling
needed at Eskbank along with a
second platform, together with
a bay platform at Gorebridge to
create an interchange point.
This would permit a more
intensive stopping service to
Edinburgh in view of extensive
house-building in the Gorebridge
area, while accelerating trains
fromTweedbank, with calls at
Galashiels, Stow, Gorebridge and
Newcraighall only.
Costings have not been worked
out, but the campaign would
likeTransport Scotland and
Network Rail to build the recent
electrification improvements.Abellio outlines its plans for East Midlands franchise
December 2020, rolling stock will
be the Class 360/1 EMUs, which
are being stood down by Greater
Anglia, rather that the Class 379s
previously mooted.
Looking to fleet replacements,
although no orders had been
announced, the franchisee plans
to replace all regional diesel trains
by December 2021.Bi-mode
On Intercity routes, with
electrification only running as far
as Market Harborough, bi-mode
trains will be introduced, initially
around spring 2022. In a timeline
produced by Abellio, sets are
earmarked to begin testing by
the end of 2021, with all in service
by the end of 2022. However, the
indications are use of the sets in
electric mode is not scheduled
until autumn 2023.
Interest is growing in the use
of hydrogen trains, and EMR has
indicated trials of the still-evolving
technology will be late on in the
franchise, early in 2026. By the end
of 2022 Abellio says it will have
high quality wi-fi on all services.
From day one of the franchise,
EMR will introduce‘Delay Repay
15’, which will kick in after a
15-minute delay, introduce
direct debit payment for season
tickets, double the funding forElectrification push for Borders Railway
community rail partnerships and
projects, and embark on a major
marketing campaign.
There are also plans for four
new community rail partnerships
during the term of the franchise.
There are plans for an all-year
weekend service to Skegness, an
hourly all-day service between
Peterborough and Doncaster,
later and earlier trains serving
East Midlands Parkway, and extra
regional Sunday services.
EMR will conduct gateless
gateline trials at St Pancras and
East Midlands Parkway, upgradeticket machine functionality,
enhance train catering with a
more consistent offer seven days
per week, and pay staff a living
wage. EMR will also provide
enhancements for accessibility
and inclusivityFlexible
On ticketing, there will be
a price promise of the best
value through EMR ticketing
channels, flexible season tickets,
account-based ticketing in the
Nottingham area, plus better
mobile ticket options, whichaims to remove the‘ticket on
departure’collection method.
The September issue will
contain more details of the new
franchise.
➜On June 21, the Competition
and Markets Authority
(CMA) announced it will
consider whether the award
of the franchise to Abellio,
which is involved with four
other rail franchises, may result
in a‘substantial lessening of
competition'.The CMA deadline
for comments is July 5. A decision
is expected by August 23.CLASS 37 BACK IN THE VALLEYS:Transport for Wales is now hiring two Class 37/4s and Mk2 stock to
operate peak trains on the Cardiff to Rhymney route, recalling the early years of Privatisation when
a variety of traction was hired in. On June 21, No. 37418 passes Pontlottyn with the 17.01 Cardiff
Central-Rhymney.DEAN PARSONSVIRGINTrains (VT) has
surprised the rail industry by
announcing it will make a bid
to become an open access
operator.
This follows the shock
announcementVT and its
partner Stagecoach had been
disqualified from bidding for
theWest Coast Partnership
franchise and were likely to
exit railways.
VT has lodged an application
with the Office of Rail and
Road (ORR) to introduce a
new hourly service between
Liverpool and London from
May 2021.The service, if
approved, would call at
Lichfield,Tamworth, Nuneaton
and Liverpool South Parkway.
The application is for 24
services per day.
VT says the service will
be the UK’s most customer-
focused rail service with a seat
reservation for every ticket,
and guaranteed to be at least
10% cheaper than tickets
offered by rail competitors.
If there was disruption onthe rail network and services
were busier than normal, any
passengers who couldn’t get a
seat would get a full refund.
Trains would have free wi-fi
as well as free films andTV
on board plus an‘at-seat’,
on-demand catering service.
PhilWhittingham,Virgin
Trains managing director, said:
“VirginTrains has led the UK rail
industry for 22 years, but we
want to go further.These new
services will allow us to take
the customer experience on
the UK’s railways to the next
level and show the rest of the
industry how it can be done.”
This initiative is separate
toVT’s currentWest Coast
operation and would run as
a partnership betweenVirgin,
Stagecoach, SNCF and Alstom.
It is expected the new
services, if approved, will
generate around £50million of
revenue each year.
Displaced Class 91 and Mk
sets from the East Coast Main
Line could be used as rolling
stock.Virgin pursues open access bid
FORTH Ports, together with
the Eddie Stobart Group
and DRS, introduced a new
Anglo-Scottish intermodal
weekend service between
Tilbury and Grangemouth on
June 28.
The trains run via Daventry,arriving and taking retail
goods, food and drink
north, returning with
spirits, chemicals and fresh
foodstuffs.
It is expected the
traction will be a DRS
Class 88 loco.New Anglo-Scottish freight flow
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