So Where Will Greater Anglia’s Old Trains Go?
The title of this post is the title of this article in the East Anglian Daily Times.
It is a good question to ask, as when all Greater Anglia‘s new trains have arrived in 2020 or so, there will be a lot of trains needing good homes.
The article comes to these conclusions.
- Class 90 Locomotives – Freight operators.
- Mark 3 Coaches – Some heritage operators, but mainly scrap.
- Class 153 trains – Might survive a few years with another operator, before being scrapped.
- Class 156 trains – Might survive a few years with another operator, before being scrapped.
- Class 170 trains – These should have a long term future with other operators.
- Class 317 trains – Least likely to find a new use.
- Class 321 trains – Likely to go to other operators.
- Class 360 trains – Likely to go to other operators.
I don’t disagree greatly, but I do feel that because of the continued fast growth of the UK rail network, that other outcomes could happen.
Mark 3 Coaches
Passengers like the Mark 3 coach and Chiltern Railways have shown that the coaches can be refurbished to a very high standard, that meets all current and future regulations.
I feel that at least some coaches will get the Chiltern treatment, as there are routes, where they could work economically, between a locomotive and a driving van trailer (DVT). The key to this could be that Greater Anglia will release sixteen DVTs in good condition.
Class 321 Trains
Greater Anglia has over a hundred of these four-car trains and thirty of these will have been upgraded under the Renatus project.
If the Class 319 Flex train is a success, could we see some of these trains given the same treatment as I talked about in Could There Be A Class 321 Flex Train?
If the Class 321 Flex train were to possess the same hill-climbing ability that is proposed for the Class 319 Flex train, then there could be a whole fleet of trains suitable to work the Valley Lines from Cardiff, without any further electrification.
It will come down to a political decision, as to whether to electrify the Valley Lines and use new rolling stock or appropriately refurbished cascaded Class 321 trains.
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The Anonymous Widower 
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