Chiltern Railways could be moving closer to taking on Mk 5 coaches from Beacon Rail, but will not be drawn on industry speculation that a deal is likely.
Chiltern Railways could be moving closer to taking on Mk 5 coaches from Beacon Rail, but will not be drawn on industry speculation that a deal is likely.
Liam Bolland, Media Relations Manager at Chiltern Railways, told RAIL: “We are engaged in constructive discussions with the Department for Transport and suppliers on securing replacement and additional trains, and hope to share an update in due course.”
Insiders have told RAIL that the operator is expecting a Mk 5 set for crew training and evaluation.
The coaches (built by CAF) only entered traffic in 2019 with Transpennine Express, and have never been fully utilised. Thirteen sets were built, with the intention that 11 a day would be used between Liverpool Lime Street and Scarborough and Saltburn, operated in push-pull mode with Direct Rail Services Class 68s.
The COVID pandemic delayed crew training and their introduction, and the sets were withdrawn from use (at the behest of the DfT) in December 2023. By then, typically only four sets a day were in use - mostly to shuttle between York and Scarborough.
Since then, the coaches have been in store at Long Marston, Crewe and Manchester, as the owner seeks alternative users.
Moving to Chiltern makes sense because not only do the operator’s own locomotive-hauled trains use Class 68s, but RAIL understands the existing Mk 3 coaches (which date from the 1970s) are showing signs of corrosion.
However, Chiltern only operates four out of its six sets of Mk 3s each day between Marylebone and Birmingham Moor Street/ Stourbridge.
Chiltern had been linked with Class 175s displaced by Transport for Wales, but they have now moved to Great Western Railway.
It has also been suggested that Class 222s soon to be displaced by East Midlands Railway were on its radar, but these are unlikely to be available for at least two years until EMR’s fleet of Class 810s is in traffic.
They have also been earmarked to move to ScotRail to replace HST sets.
Of the 14 Class 68s DRS hired to TPE (68019-032), two have been used by the company for Railhead Treatment Train cover (68024/025), while 68026/027 have been taken by Europhoenix for evaluation.
Only these ‘68s’, plus DRS’s own 68033/034, can work with Mk 5s.
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The Class 40 man - 04/12/2024 16:06
Hope this deal gets concluded successfully. It makes perfect sense for Chiltern to take them. It has got to be better than having a brand new train fleet sitting in MOD sites.