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Yep, most passenger services across the UK are in hands of either Diesel (DMU) or Electric Multiple Units (EMU), including major express services such as those on the West Coast Main Line from London to Glasgow.
The most common of those are various Sprinters
of the Class 150, 156 and 158 varieties, and also members of the Networker, Turbostar, Electrostar and Desiro families.
edited 2nd Jun '16 8:41:03 AM by Greenmantle
Keep Rolling On
And there's also some cases where the lines are kind of blurred; for example the Class 43 locos + Mark 3 coaching stock were originally classed as Class 253 and 254 DMUs.
I always found it so strange how different diesel locomotives look in North America and the UK. Our diesel locomotives tend to look like this. Beeg and stronk. UK diesel locomotives are much smaller and just look old design-wise, and to see them pulling freight is kinda jarring to me. It's like if I saw a CSX autorack train being pulled by one of these or these.note
edited 2nd Jun '16 10:29:58 AM by PhysicalStamina
It doesn't help that the UK has a very restrictive loading gauge. The 59, 66 and 70 are basically US locomotives scaled down to fit that.
edited 2nd Jun '16 10:38:28 AM by Deadbeatloser22
"Yup. That tasted purple."
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![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
That's because UK rolling stock is smaller — in fact, the UK has the most restrictive loading gauge in the world. So much so that rolling stock has to be specially designed (and as such is more expensive) to fit within it.
Indeed. The Class 59 was basically a version of the EMD SD40-2 redesigned for British (and European) rails.
edited 2nd Jun '16 10:45:57 AM by Greenmantle
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So this is what TPX's 802s are going to look like
◊.
Dear god that livery is ugly.
"Yup. That tasted purple."
I dunno, I think it looks pretty cool.
Also looks like TPX is eliminating the warning panels from its future high-speed trains. Since neither those 802s nor the CAF-built express EMUs
◊ have them.
edited 3rd Jun '16 11:16:14 AM by Deadbeatloser22
"Yup. That tasted purple."
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Well, I'll wait until the real rolling stock appears...
It's probably the future though. Warning panels are no longer required as of March 5th so long as the train or locomotive in question is fitted with compliant headlights.
Saw my first 37 in the wild today. Pair of them in DRS Blue top-and-tailing a Norwich-Great Yarmouth train.
"Yup. That tasted purple."
HS2 may no longer be ‘a priority’ after Brexit, says Lord Berkeley
Yeah, that may have been obvious. The main drivers for the HS 2 project in government were Cameron and /spit Osbourne. Cameron's gone and Osbourne's not long in waiting for his bullet to the back of the neck in terms of his political career.
HS 2 was a shit idea anyway as it wasn't going to come to Scotland and be a proper revenue maker up here. All it was was a way of funnelling more money and talent from the Midlands and North.
And IIRC a lot of the resignalling and stuff that would permit faster running on the WCML was EU funded.
"Yup. That tasted purple."
I think you are right on that one. If it's true then the project is like the parrot in this sketch from Monty Python:
I mean I'm not sure if ETCS was being funded by the EU or just an EU standard.
"Yup. That tasted purple."
It is an EU standard, but other countries such as Switzerland also follow it.
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
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....but, Tam, what happens when the WCML reaches full capacity? It's projected to be there soon.
Keep Rolling On
Isn't it already there?
And apparently the Government's solution is to restrict intercity services on the line to make commuting basically impossible.
edited 29th Jun '16 8:30:15 AM by Deadbeatloser22
"Yup. That tasted purple."
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And it's almost there on the Basingstoke-Waterloo stretch of the South Western Main Lane — and remember, double-deck trains won't fit our loading gauge.
Full Arriva integration of Northern halted over competition concerns
The CMA is still deciding whether to carry out a full-length investigation, but it has issued an enforcement order to prevent full integration of Northern and Arriva, which officially took over the business on 1 April.
The CMA raised concerns after an initial review found that, following the takeover, there would be little or no competition against Arriva on 38 train routes and 44 bus routes, leading to a risk of higher prices or poorer quality service on these routes.
Andrea Coscelli, executive director of markets and mergers at the CMA, said: “Arriva already runs significant existing train and bus operations in the area covered by Northern Rail. We have identified a number of services and routes where passengers have previously had a choice between competing operators, but which will now be run by Arriva.
“This situation could potentially lead to a rise in non-regulated fares for passengers so unless Arriva is able to offer suitable undertakings now, we intend to carry out an in-depth investigation to look in more detail at these concerns, and decide whether any remedies are required.”
Arriva operates Cross Country, Chiltern, Arriva Trains Wales, Grand Central and the open access Alliance Rail service, as well as London Overground, Tyne and Wear Metro and 5,900 bus services. The company must now offer proposals to resolve the competition concerns raised by the CMA this week. If Arriva does not offer such undertakings, or the CMA does not accept them, the CMA will refer the Northern Rail franchise award for an in-depth phase 2 investigation.
TSSA warns of flaws in “the whole franchise system”
Manuel Cortes, general secretary of the TSSA, which opposed the Arriva takeover, said: “The whole franchise system is basically flawed because it creates local monopolies across different regions. We warned about Arriva getting this franchise and our predictions have come true.”
A spokesperson for Arriva said: “We note the Competition and Markets Authority’s announcement in relation to the Northern Rail franchise.
“We are already working closely with the Competition and Markets Authority to attempt to agree a package of measures to address any competition concerns they have and avoid a time-consuming phase two investigation.”
A DfT spokesperson added that Arriva is already serving rail passengers in the north and this announcement doesn’t change that. “They are now working to address the CMA’s concerns,” he said. “It would not be appropriate to comment further while the CMA’s review is ongoing.”
Hmm...shouldn't the CMA have spoken to th DfT first? And before anyone asks, wouldn't the same happen with nationalised bus and rail services — it used to, in fact.
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If the HS 2 wasn't going to get a Scottish terminus at Glasgow Central, it would not have made much difference to the congestion problem. Something that would only really be solved by buying more conventional trains and utilizing them properly.
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If the infrastructure can cope, which it increasingly can't. You can't stick more and more trains onto a line with no spare capacity, nor with stations that cannot service those trains.
Keep Rolling On
The Virgin group currently part-owns the franchise
that runs the 91s, yes.
"Yup. That tasted purple."