Britain's railways are going through a major re-equipment process. Great Western and East Coast have taken delivery of new Hitachi built 125 mph trains, and more recently some other companies have taken delivery of simular though more powerful 5 coach trains. This is a new trans-pennine train at York railway station on a service from Manchester Airport to York, Newcastlle and Edinburgh. They work as electric trains on electrified lines, but are fitted with diesel engines for use on lines not yet electrified.
To UK eyes these look distinctly odd. For the last 50 years all UK trains have had a yellow front, as a safety feature to make trains more visible to trackside workers. Regulations were changed a while ago with new specifications on headlight standards, and trains with the new headlight standards don't need the yellow front.
The big plus with these trains is the increase in seats available. Previous trans-pennine trains have had three coaches, these have five longer coaches, so seats available have almost doubled. It is quite ironic that as these trains come into service, passenger numbers have dropped substantially because of Covid-19.
Thank you all for your comments and favs, they are very much appreciated.
I did get a reide on one of these trains from Darlington to York in February. They are quite nicely designed, except for the seats which are a bit firm.
Thank you all for your comments and favs, they are very much appreciated.
I did get a reide on one of these trains from Darlington to York in February. They are quite nicely designed, except for the seats which are a bit firm.
Ian
Thank you both - I've no doubt that over the next few years I will be travelling on these quite a lot!
Ian