The plan is for the extra sets to be used Cardiff to Manchester eventually, then there's less extra traincrew training needed.
Cardiff & Crewe drivers can cover that work, there's no plans for More depots learning them but plans can change.
It will be Swansea to Manchester.
That is indeed what I'm hearing too, just again I wasn't going to share until it was more public knowledge!
There will have to be extra training of some kind. Whilst drivers duties can be covered by existing depots, guards can not. Crewe-Manchester is only signed by Crewe guards, who currently are not planned to sign Mk4 stock. Shrewsbury/Cardiff guards sign Mk4 stock (in training currently), but do not sign the route past Crewe.
Whilst this is true, it's only a 3 day course for guards, regardless of whether they have LHCS experience or not. For drivers who didn't already sign MKIIIs and 67s it's a 3 week course.
That said, with the number of services being discussed I'm not convinced the current link of loco trained drivers (27) at Crewe will be large enough, so I suspect that there may still need to be some extra drivers trained - just not as many as with some of the other options being bandied about.
Not a chance of pairs of 175's of Marches anytime soon. There simply isn't the fleet availability. 3 cars 175's are sufficient for now.
It will of course mean a re-do of the Cardiff/Swansea - Milford Haven services that the Mk4's will be on.
Also anything longer than 4 car on the Marches gets very messy with platform lengths. The MKIVs are getting SDO retrofitted, and the 197s will have it from day one, but 175s don't have it, and it's hard to see TFW forking out on that when they don't have long left with the franchise.
I didn't mean soon; I'm not expecting the extra mark 4s (assuming they are confirmed now?) anytime soon either - they will need mods to work with 67s and possibly more 67s will need mods too and then crews will need training etc. By then the stopping services from Manchester/Liverpool to Llandudno will probably be in the hands of 197s which will free up some 175s as would having mark 4s on some of the Manchester-Swansea services. There would be enough 175s to pair some of them up then, keep 158s on the Cambrian and most of the long distance stuff wouldn't have to suffer 197s anymore.
At the risk of being accused of back seat moderating, could you please keep your CAF rants to the dedicated thread?
All I will say in reply to this that's relevant to the MKIVs is that the procuring of extra sets makes it even less likely that the 175s will be staying. 7 5 car MKIV rakes plus the large fleet of 197s will be great for capacity all across the TfW network. It will be transformational.