4 car class 385 Argyle Line (Lanark - Glasgow Central)

[DC21]

Seen tonight a 4 on a test service tonight on this route. Are Scotrail planning on using the 4 car sets on this route? Standard stock is usually 318/320/385 and the odd 380 on services to Edinburgh via Carstairs

 

[Cheshire Scot]

Seen tonight a 4 on a test service tonight on this route. Are Scotrail planning on using the 4 car sets on this route? Standard stock is usually 318/320/385 and the odd 380 on services to Edinburgh via Carstairs

Argyle line?
Lanark trains use Central High Level.

I note it was timed at 100mph whereas the current trains are timed at 75mph due to the mix of units used. Perhaps a timing test run to see what difference being able to exceed 75 would make (even if limited opportunity to hit actually 100 due to stops although the stopping pattern for this test was 'unusual')?

 

[hexagon789]

Argyle line?
Lanark trains use Central High Level.

I note it was timed at 100mph whereas the current trains are timed at 75mph due to the mix of units used. Perhaps a timing test run to see what difference being able to exceed 75 would make (even if limited opportunity to hit actually 100 due to stops although the stopping pattern for this test was 'unusual')?

Many of the normal services are timed at 100mph according to RTT, so it isn't that.

2B91 running after the 4-car 385 working:

Realtime Trains | 2B91 2249 Lanark to Glasgow Central | 03/03/2022

Real-time train running information for 2B91 2249 departure from Lanark to Glasgow Central on 03/03/2022. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

 

[DanNCL]

385s to Lanark are common, but in 3/6 car formations rather than 4 car. Lanark services don't run through to the Argyle line anymore, apart from occasionally during engineering works - on such occasions 385s won't work to Lanark and all services would be covered by 318s and 320s (with 334s potentially also making a rare appearance on such occasions).

 

[Huntergreed]

Interesting - I’m presuming all first class would be declassified on this route (as I don’t believe a first class ticket from Lanark outwards is in existence at present?)

 

[hexagon789]

Interesting - I’m presuming all first class would be declassified on this route (as I don’t believe a first class ticket from Lanark outwards is in existence at present?)

That is the usual practice on ScotRail. I don't ever recall a guard attempting to charge a first class fare where available simply because a 158 or 170 with First class turned up on a Glasgow-Alloa diagram. Also, I can't see a first class fare for Lanark anyway.

 

[Cheshire Scot]

Many of the normal services are timed at 100mph according to RTT, so it isn't that.

2B91 running after the 4-car 385 working:

Oops, my mistake, I just looked at a couple of random trains which did show 75.

 

[92002]

Oops, my mistake, I just looked at a couple of random trains which did show 75.

There's currently a 385 3 Car and 4 car that have being undertaking test runs for Hitachi. They are 016 and 103. On Wednesday night they did a run from Edinburgh to North Berwick. So perhaps the 4 car was part of the tests too.

 

[hexagon789]

Oops, my mistake, I just looked at a couple of random trains which did show 75.

Seems to be a mixture, by coincidence the ones I looked at had 385s on the 100mph workings and 320s on the 75mph but I'm sure it's always perfectly worked out like that.

 

[92002]

Seems to be a mixture, by coincidence the ones I looked at had 385s on the 100mph workings and 320s on the 75mph but I'm sure it's always perfectly worked out like that.

Thought 320s has been modified a few years ago for 90mph for use on the Lanark and Carstairs services on the WCML. My Platform 5 book seems to think so. The 318s were already cleared for that when they worked Ayrshire services.

 

[hexagon789]

Thought 320s has been modified a few years ago for 90mph for use on the Lanark and Carstairs services on the WCML. My Platform 5 book seems to think so. The 318s were already cleared for that when they worked Ayrshire services.

You are perfectly correct, 320s are all modified for 90mph

 

[Chris Hamilton]

It’s not completely unheard of for a 4-car 385 to find its way on to Lanark services. The only restriction being that they can’t work in multiple due to the signal position at the end of Lanark platform. Also, until the 385s were introduced there was at least 1 diagram on that line for a 380, that provided either a 3 or 4 car depending on what was available. They however, were not allowed to work in multiple at all as they weren’t equipped for SDO on the Lanark line (a 6 car is slightly too long for a small handful of platforms).

While it’s rare, it does happen (and was more common during the lockdowns) as sometimes Hitachi can’t get a 3 car out the depot so will put a 4 car in service instead. Also happens on the Shotts line too.

First Class is always declassified on Strathclyde services, plus Dunblane/Alloa where stock with the accommodation is provided . No 1st accomodation is provided by ScotRail on any other inter region route (such as GSW, non E&G Edinburgh). There are no internal Strathclyde First Class tickets available, except between Carstairs/Motherwell and Glasgow Central on Avanti, XC, LNER and TPE.

 

[92002]

You are perfectly correct, 320s are all modified for 90mph

So RTT is not telling the correct story then, saying 75mph.

 

[hexagon789]

So RTT is not telling the correct story then, saying 75mph.

What RTT is saying is not what the maximum speed of the actual train is though.

 

[92002]

What RTT is saying is not what the maximum speed of the actual train is though.

However if its going to Lanark on the WCML the linespeed will be more than 75mph.

 

[hexagon789]

However if its going to Lanark on the WCML the linespeed will be more than 75mph.

Indeed, but the figure on RTT is not necessarily reflective of either maximum linespeed or train capability.

 

[XAM2175]

So RTT is not telling the correct story then, saying 75mph.

However if its going to Lanark on the WCML the linespeed will be more than 75mph.

It's pathed for 75 mph, meaning that the timetable is written in the assumption that the train will run at a maximum of 75 mph. As @hexagon789 says, it cannot be read as the actual maximum speed of the train or the line.

 

[Starmill]

It's really very common for a train with a higher than necessary top speed to be used.