TfL To Sell And Lease Back Elizabeth Line Fleet To Finance New Deep Tube Trains
The title of this post is the same as this article on Global Rail News.
Transport for London (TfL) is under financial pressure for various reasons and desperately wants to order new trains for the Piccadilly Line.
- The current 1973 Stock trains entered service in 1975.
- 87½ six-car trains were originally ordered.
- Train technology has moved on in over forty years.
- The new trains will be walk-through, lower-weight, energy efficient trains with air-conditioning and wi-fi.
- The trains may have batteries to handle regenerative braking and power failures.
When the 1967 Stock trains on the Victoria Line were replaced, the new fleet had a similar number of 2009 Stock trains.
So will TfL order 87½ trains again?
According to the November 2017 Edition of Modern Railways, this is proposed.
- Ordering a hundred trains.
- Installing new signalling.
- Increasing frequency from 24 to 33 trains per hour.
This would give a capacity increase of 60 %.
The five pre-qualiofied bidders were Alstom, Bombardier, CAF, Hitachi and Siemens. However since this was announced, the following has happened.
- Bombardier and Hitchi are submitting a joint bid.
- Alstom and Siemens have merged their rail transportation businesses.
As the order could lead to a total of 250 new trains, I suspect competition will be keen.
I can understand why, TfL are leasing the Crossrail trains to raise money for the purchase.
I would assume that TfL will lease the new Piccadilly Line trains, just like they lease the London Overground trains.
Some might think, that the trains should be purchased outright!
That means TfL would need to raise a lot of money up front.
- What also helps is that trains are an asset that last a long time, with many still being in peak condition at forty years old.
- So institutions with large amounts of cash assets like Pension Funds find trains a good place to use money to create an income for beneficiaries.
- Given that rolling stock and especially electric trains are good for the environment, it could be considered an ethical investment.
Various models are used by different transport authorities, with Merseyrail actually buying the trains and then leasing them to the train operating company.
Legal & General To Invest £350m in UK Rail Infrastructure
The title of this post, is the same as this article on Railway Technology.
Wikipedia says this about Legal & General.
The company offers a wide range of products for individuals and corporate businesses. Its investment management is the UK’s largest investment manager of UK pension fund assets and has a growing US business, based in Chicago, Illinois.
So in a few years time, your pension might own a couple of nuts and bolts on a train.
Risky Business: Train Fleets In A State Of Flux
The title of this post is the same as this article in Rail Magazine.
The article is certainly in the must-read category and it illustrates the perils of not getting your investments right.
You could argue that rolling stock leasing companies (ROSCOs) are sucking money out of the UKs railways.
I would argue differently.
The cause of the troubles for the ROSCOs is threefold.
- Train operating companies would prefer to have lots of similar trains, as this makes, maintenance, training and timetabling easier and more affordable. Some successful companies like c2c, London Overground, Virgin Trains and Merseyrail are one- or two-class companies and others like TransPennine Express and Great Western Railway are moving that way.
- New leasing companies have seen the returns, that the three original ROSCOs have made and have entered the market. As they are leasing new trains, they make it more difficult to find homes for existing rolling stock, many of of which have perhaps twenty years of life left and are priced accordingly.
- The ROSCOs have also badly misjudged the technology. Bombardier, CAF and Stadler have come up with innovative solutions to the problems of our unique Victorian-designed railway and the train operating companies have liked what they have seen and ordered them.
It is interesting to note, that few of the large orders for rolling stock have not been financed by the three original ROSCOs; Angel Trains, Eversholt and Porterbrook.
Greater Anglia
As I know Greater Anglia well, I’ll look at their current fleet, which is being replaced train-for-train by new rolling stock.
- Class 90 locomotives – These are thirty years old and will probably end up pulling freight or be cannibalised for spares.
- Mark 3 coaches – These do not meet the latest regulations for passengers of reduced mobility and most will probably be scrapped, although one rake has been sold to be used by 60163 Tornado.
- Driving Van Trailers – I doubt these will find a use and will join the many others in store or they will be scrapped.
- Class 153 trains – At twenty-five years old, I doubt these single-carriage trains will see serious passenger use again.
- Class 156 trains – At nearly thirty years old, these two-car DMUs may have use on rural lines, but they will need refurbishment.
- Class 170 trains – These two- and three-car 100 mph DMUs will certainly find another operator.
- Class 317 trains – At thirty-five years old, but in good condition, these 100 mph EMUs will be difficult to place, as newly-electrified lines will inevitably deserve new trains.
- Class 321 trains – These 100 mph EMUs will be difficult to place, despite some having been recently upgraded.
- Class 360 trains – These 100 mph EMUs are only fifteen years old and will probably find a new operator.
- Class 379 trains – These modern 100 mph EMUs are only a few years old and will will certainly find a new operator.
Quite frankly most of this rolling stock is not worth much!
The Class 360 and Class 379 trains will be the easiest to release.
The sheer numbers of Class 317 and 321 trains, with little new electrification planned, mean that something innovative will, have to be done to find them a home. I speculated aboutwhat will happen to all these Mark 3-based multiple units in What Will Happen To The Class 319, Class 455, Class 321 And Cl;ass 317 Trains? I certainly suspect that some will find uses, with the upgraded Class 321 trains probably the first in the queue.
As I said in the article, I feel that some Class 321 trains could become small parcel and pallet carriers.
The Class 707 Trains
The Rail Magazine article talks about the problem of the Class 707 trains, that were ordered by South West Trains and will be returned by South Western Railway.
It suggests they could be converted to run on 25 KVAC overhead working, but that will be expensive and in my view a new Desiro City is far inferior to a new Aventra.
So would a quality Class 317 or 321 be a good alternative for an operator, that needed some new trains to perhaps open a new electrified route?
It looks even more of a bad decision of Angel Trains to fund the Class 707 trains.
Is It Innovate Or Die?
Porterbrook saw problems coming with the Class 319 trains, they were leasing to Thameslink.
But they got together with Northern and designed an affordable bi-mode, which is now the Class 769 train.
Thirteen have been ordered!
In anotherf project, InterCity 125 trains are being shortened and updated to last another decade.
Will we be seeing more developments like this, where redundant trains are turned into useful ones for a different purpose?
We could even be seeing some innovative export deals!
Conclusion
It’s a tough world out there!
But those that innovate will survive and make money!
The Anonymous Widower 