The Anonymous Widower

TPE Pledges Capacity Boost With Class 68/Mk 5A Sets

The title of this post is the same as that of an article in Issue 851 of Rail Magazine.

It adds a few extra details to those, that I wrote about in Nova 3 On The Test Track.

This information is revealed.

The Route

The TransPennine Express fleet will run on the Liverpool Lime Street-Manchester Airport-Scarborough/Middlesbrough Routes, replacing three car Class 185 trains.

Train Length

Each Mark 5A car has a length of 22.2 or 22.37 metres.

Adding on the Class 68 locomotive gives a train length of 131.84 metres.

This compares with a train length for the Class 185 train of 71.276 metres.

It means that two Class 185 trains working together, which is current practice, are longer than the new fleet.

This must limit platform and depot modifications.

The Capacity

The number of seats on the two trains are as follows.

• Class 185 train – 15 First Class – 165 Second Class
• Class 68/Mk 5A sets – 30 First Class – 261 Second Class

This gives twice as many seats in First Class and nearly sixty percent more in second.

Both trains seem to have around sixty seats in each car.

Technical Characteristics

The Rail Magazine article gives several technical characteristics.

• Each coach has two passenger doors, except the First Class coach which has one.
• There is Selective Door Opening controlled by GPS.
• Door controls are in the Driver Trailer and Class 68 cans, which the driver controls.
• Two door control panels are in every vehicle for usde by the conductor.
• Wheel Slip Protection is fitted.
• Automatic passenger counting is provided.
• Wi-fi is fitted.

The trains have a high specification.

May 8, 2018 - Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Class 68 Locomotive, Mark 5A Coach, Nova 3 Train, TransPennine Express