What happened to driving car 77340? Why was it taken out of the formation?
It being the electrical component that is 30 years old and you having seen electrical systems of such age and even earlier designs come and go this s
CAF are supposed to be building 3 new battery trailers to be inserted into 3 car 331s to create a bespoke 4 car battery unit for Windermere. 195/331s are out of gauge at Meols Cop but only with the doors open, so can’t operate to Southport in service without work on the island platform.
Given a bit more money (if the treasury/DfT weren’t so tight), a single compatible fleet of 2, 3 and 4 car bi-mode DEMUs could have been ordered for Northern to run all routes (and had their diesel equipment removed as required when lines were electrified to become pure EMUs) and it is also evident from the 196s and 197s being built that they could have had gangways, solving the issue of revenue collection.
Not DMUs, DEMUs with electric transmission. It should be noted that the 769 doesn’t have a DMU mode at all, it can only run as an DEMU or an EMU. If all new self powered units were built as DEMUs, BEMUs or HEMUs, with a pantograph well from new even if one isn’t fitted, converting to a pure EMU would be as simple as unbolting the Diesel engine/battery/hydrogen fuel cell and never using that capability again.
It is evident from CAF’s website that Civity units can be ordered as DEMUs. While retractioning 195/196/197s to become 331s (which may be worth it considering what their age will be by the time Diesel is supposed to have been phased out) is possible, it will be much more complicated, than if the money had been spent future proofing them in the first place (but they would have to have sense for that).
But talking of sense, consider that if the ENTIRE network had been electrified in 1955 as part of the modernisation plan (and then NONE of it subsequently closed) how much money would have been saved on Diesel (and coal!) since and how much more revenue would have been generated.
I was literally thinking DMUs with mechanical transmission, for simplicity's sake! Then just swap out the engine with a motor and throw a few bits of electrical equipment underneath when needed.
The units should really have had gangways, but then they should also have ordered more centre cars, considering how packed they have been since day one. But that's standard DfT doing the bare minimum!
100% this, and I suspected it as soon as Grayling opened his mouth.
Instead of fixing the cost runaway putting up the wires, let's convert some 30 year old stock with an untested design, what could possibly go wrong?
The funny thing is that we could probably be making decent progress into wiring another route by now, hopefully having learned some lessons and sticking to schedule/budget a bit better.
769's will be an improvement over 150's, but just having 319's run it will always be more desirable.
We may need a reality check on the rush to electrify everything, be it trains, road vehicles or space heating.
Cost is enormous. Priorities run up against major practical considerations. We all put things off.
Personal examples. Our gas central heating system is old but still works well. Despite annual reminders that it's out of date spares are still obtainable and we put off replacing it with a more efficient gas system. A ground source heat pump and electric replacement would be a major investment and very disruptive. Being put off. Heat pump not likely.
My diesel car has done over 70,000 miles but should be good for twice that distance. I don't need a new car but might like one. I'd like to have an electric car that would take me over 500 mikes on a charge. Currently the capital cost, range and time to recharge deter me. Purchase being put off. Compromise possible within 3 years - hybrid?
I'm not surprised the British railway industry is putting things off. Electrifying everything immediately isn't possible even if we could afford it. We have to use DEMUs, or have carriages that can be loco hauled by diesel and electric until we get more wires in place.
Realistically, as we didn't plan and wire up a national electrified railway 100 years ago, we're stuck with what we've got. It's unlikely to be all electric within 30 years, possibly not within 50. (Assuming we still use railways by then.)
Returning to today, there seem to be 4 769s out in service. It would be great if this project could get over the teething problems and prove it was worthwhile.
Your mention of the expense of electric cars is one of the reasons investment in public transport is so important for decarbonisation.
For railways, electrification is economic, especially on routes like the MML or XC, which probably rack up some very frightening diesel bills!
Electrification means simpler, lighter, cheaper, faster, quieter, less polluting trains. Battery/Hydrogen/Diesel will not match OLE in all of these factors.
Also, if you think - say you electrify Windermere. When you consider the route, you are also electrifying that train all the way from Oxenholme - Manchester Airport.
Ultimately electrification more widely is about dealing with climate change. However, for the railways, it provides many more benefits than that, making it one of the most obvious industries to invest in electrification for.
I think Gareth Dennis' take on this is right. Electrification of railways primarily reduces carbon by improving service, increasing capacity, and enabling modal shift from road.
