British Rail Class 390
Encyclopedia
The Class 390 Pendolino is a type of train used in Great Britain. They are electric multiple unit
s using Fiat
's tilting train
pendolino
technology and built by Alstom
. Fifty-three 9-car units were originally built for Virgin Trains
from 2001 to 2004 for operation on the West Coast Main Line
(WCML), with a further four trains and 62 cars built 2009-2012. The original batch of trains were the last to be assembled at Alstom's Washwood Heath
plant, in Birmingham
, before its closure in 2005.
The Class 390 is one of the fastest domestic electric multiple units operating in Britain, with a top speed of 140 mph; however limitations to track signalling systems restrict the units to a maximum speed of 125 mph (200 km/h) in service. In September 2006, the Pendolino set a new speed record, completing the 401 miles (645 km) length of the West Coast Main Line
from Glasgow to London in 3 hours, 55 minutes, beating the 4 hours 14 minute record for the southbound run previously set in 1981 by its ancestor, British Rail
's Advanced Passenger Train
. The APT retains the ultimate speed record for this route, having completed the northbound journey between London and Glasgow in 3 hours 52 minutes in 1984 which included a 5 minute delay due to a signal fault.
In September 2010, Virgin Trains and Alstom launched a co-branded Pendolino (390004) which was renamed "Alstom Pendolino" and carries a Virgin/Alstom livery on coaches A & K in recognition of the partership between Alstom and Virgin Trains.
won the InterCity
West Coast franchise, they made the decision to replace the train fleet they inherited with new trains. The old fleet consisted of British Rail Class 86
, 87
and 90
electric locomotive
s, which operated in push-pull
mode with Mk.2
and Mk.3
coaching stock. Virgin placed an order with Alstom
/Fiat
for the construction of new tilting train
s.
Tilting trains were nothing new for the West Coast Main Line
. Twenty years previously, British Rail
had developed the revolutionary, but ultimately unsuccessful, Class 370
Advanced Passenger Train
(APT).
Fiat supplied much of the content of the Class 390 units, including the bodyshell and the bogies, whilst final assembly was carried out at Washwood Heath. The tilting technology was developed by SIG Switzerland (later FIAT-SIG, today ALSTOM). Two electromechanical
actuator
s are used per car to achieve the desired tilting angle on curved stretches of track. The train can tilt to a maximum of eight degrees. In contrast to other Fiat tilting trains which use hydraulic
tilting actuators, the electromechanical systems offers lower maintenance cost and higher efficiency.
The new trains were intended to run at 140 mph (225 km/h), but the West Coast Main Line modernisation programme, which was an upgrade to the infrastructure to allow faster line speeds, ran over budget. Consequently plans were scaled back, and in a manner reminiscent of the introduction of the Intercity 225
, the lack of signalling upgrades resulted in the maximum line speed being restricted to 125 mph (200 km/h). Although this (and 140 mph) are well below BR's hopes for APT of 155 mi/h, but it does match the maximum speed of 125 mph (200 km/h) for the APT in passenger service (although one APT set reached 162 mph (261 km/h) in testing).
Fifty-three units were originally built, numbered 390001-390053. Each now has nine vehicles, although the first 34 sets were built as 8-car units, with the ninth vehicle built later and fitted into the unit during 2004. A further four 11-car sets were built 2009-2012 as well as 62 cars to enable 31 more trains to become 11-car sets. The August 2010 unit formation is described in the table below, with vehicles listed in the order they are formed in the unit:
The units incorporate a number of innovations, including a walk-in shop in place of the traditional buffet/restaurant car, and extensive passenger visual information systems on the inside of the car ends and on the outside of the doors. Following criticisms of the pressure- operated automatic gangway doors of the older Mark 3
and Mark 4
carriages (which could easily be held open by items of luggage resting on the floor sensor, allowing draughts into the passenger saloon), the gangway doors on the 390 sets are of the pushbutton "open on demand" type. All seats originally had an on board entertainment system over which Virgin broadcasted a number of pre-recorded music channels. This feature was disabled in March 2010 to make way for the new on board WiFi
provided by T-Mobile
. Each seating row has a dot-matrix LCD display to indicate the reservation status of each seat; this was intended to replace the conventional printed labels which were manually inserted by the train crew.
The coaches also incorporate steps which automatically extend to platform level when the doors are opened. This feature was first seen on the APT-P, which as mentioned above is a distant ancestor of the Pendolino. The windows are fitted with roll-down blinds. For the summer period coach G (MFO) has been re-classified as standard class to provide extra standard-class capacity.
The fleet was introduced into passenger services from London Euston to Manchester Piccadilly on 23 July 2002 to coincide with the opening of the 2002 Commonwealth Games
in Manchester
. Over the next few months they began to monopolise the Manchester services, and were soon introduced onto routes to Liverpool Lime Street
, Birmingham New Street, Wolverhampton
and Preston. By late 2003 the last of the elderly Class 86
locomotives had been withdrawn owing to the introduction of the Pendolinos.
2004 saw their sphere of operation expand further. The units started to operate services to , and by the end of summer, in theory all services north of Preston were worked by Class 390 units. This allowed the final Class 90
locomotives to be withdrawn, and inroads were made into the main Class 87
fleet. It was expected that all locomotive-hauled trains would have been replaced by the end of 2004, but the Pendolinos suffered from several technical problems, which granted the Class 87s a stay of execution. By January 2005, only eight locomotives remained, for use on peak London Euston-Birmingham New Street services.
Another development in 2004 was the clearing of the units for the North Wales Coast Line
from Crewe to Holyhead
. This line is not electrified, so Virgin's Class 57/3
"Thunderbird" diesel locomotive
s are used to haul the electric units. After Virgin's loss of the crosscountry franchise, it introduced its remaining Class 221 "Super Voyagers" onto the coastal line, ending the practise of hauling the units from Crewe. As a diesel tilting train these do not require a Class 57 to haul them, rendering several redundant. These locomotives have special Dellner coupling adaptors and electrical systems that make them compatible with Pendolino trains, allowing failed units to be rescued. The Class 57s are also used when engineering works force Pendolino services to run over non-electrified diversionary routes.
Virgin Trains have named their entire fleet. Most carry promotional names such as "Virgin Valiant", "Virgin Crusader" and "Virgin King", but some have received traditional names such "City of London" and "City of Liverpool". The names are carried on the MFO (696xx) vehicle.
The entire Pendolino fleet is allocated to the (ALSTOM) Manchester Traincare Centre
at Longsight
, where heavy maintenance is carried out. Longsight boasts a hoist on which an entire Pendolino set can be lifted. Lighter maintenance, cleaning and overnight stabling is carried out at ALSTOM's other centres: Wembley (London), Oxley (Wolverhampton), Edge Hill
(Liverpool) and Polmadie (Greater Glasgow).
's inquiry into the incident identified a software glitch
in the wheel slip protection (WSP) system whereby the train's friction brakes were inhibited at low speeds after prolonged coasting (such as that occurring on approach to a station). The units were once again limited to 110 mi/h for a short period until modifications to the software were made.
The "smelly toilet" problem that has plagued Virgin's diesel trains, the Voyagers
, has also been problematic in the 390 units. Odours evident in the vestibules have been attributed to the vents for the toilet tanks being next to the air conditioning inlets. Virgin and Alstom continue to work on the problem. Trials on different sets to solve this problem include air fresheners in vestibules, cleaning the retention tanks with a solution that Virgin Atlantic
use, replacing the pipework that extracts the waste from the toilet bowl and modifications to where the excess gas is ejected. As of July 2010, this has still not been solved.
As a result of the smaller cabin dimensions necessitated by the tilting geometry, the higher floor needed to package the tilting mechanisms themselves, and the need to provide disabled toilets, the units have a lower seating capacity
than the nine-car Mark 2 and Mark 3 rakes that they replaced. The result has been severe overcrowding on some peak time services, something that Virgin has mitigated through the increased frequency of service.
The smaller size of the Pendolino windows has attracted comment and, in fact, the window size is unprecedented for British railway rolling stock. The wider window pillars mean that in some standard class carriages, 22.5% of the seats are parallel with either no window or only a limited portion of one, however the roll-over strength of the bodyshell was commented on regarding the crashworthiness performance of the train in the RAIB Accident Report into the derailment at Grayrigg
caused a Virgin Trains Pendolino to derail
near Grayrigg
in Cumbria
. The train, unit 390 033, named "City Of Glasgow", formed the 17:15 departure from London Euston bound for Glasgow
’s Central station. 115 people were on board, one of whom was killed. The train's excellent crashworthiness
was credited with preventing more fatalities.
The train was formally written off on 30 November 2007, owing to the prohibitive cost of repair against the price of a new set; a driving car and carriage from the train have subsequently been put into use for training purposes at the Virgin Trains Talent Academy in Crewe. Virgin trains has since leased a Class 90, Mk3 coaches and a DVT (Driving Van Trailer
), all painted in Virgin's new livery, and affectionately nicknamed the "Pretendolino" by Alstom maintenance staff, as a replacement for the train written off.
With the sharp increase in passenger numbers following the WCML modernisation, the Department for Transport
has announced a capacity increase by procuring additional sets (with one intended to replace the unit damaged at Grayrigg). Four new sets will be built with 11 cars, and an existing 31 will be lengthened to 11 cars. This will require major infrastructure changes to allow stations and depots to accommodate the 11-car units. Virgin Rail Projects will work to introduce these new trains with the new franchise winner as well as Alstom, Network Rail and the current franchise holder, Virgin Trains West Coast to ensure the new sets will be able to run from 1 April 2012.
With the closure of the Washwood Heath works, any additional vehicles will be manufactured in Alstom's Savigliano
factory in Italy.
In July/August 2008, a contract was signed between Angel Trains and Virgin to take on two Class 180 trains to replace the current arrangement of a Class 90
and MK3 rake, but in October 2008, Virgin West Coast cancelled this agreement as it had procured a lease on a rake of Mk 3 rolling stock, their preferred choice over the Class 180 DMUs.
In June 2010, it was announced that the new units would be placed in store until the planned start of the new West Coast franchise in 2012. This provoked some criticism given the overcrowding in place on the WCML, which the new trains were intended to alleviate. However, in August 2010, it was announced that East Coast
had been asked by the DfT to bring into service at least one of the new 11-car units on the East Coast Main Line
for a period of nine months from July 2011, after which it would be returned to the West Coast franchise. East Coast
never used the unit but instead lease an extra InterCity 125
set from East Midlands Trains
.
The first new sets have been built with 11 cars and delivered via Dollands Moor to Edge Hill. On 14 July 2011, the Virgin Trains Media Room on their website announced that Chief Operating Officer, Chris Gibb accepted the train (as a 9 coach set) from Alstom Transport UK Managing Director, Paul Robinson and Malcolm Brown, Angel Trains’ Chief Executive, at Alstom’s Edge Hill Traincare Centre in Liverpool on 12 July.
Electric multiple unit
An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages, using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number of the carriages...
s using Fiat
Fiat
FIAT, an acronym for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino , is an Italian automobile manufacturer, engine manufacturer, financial, and industrial group based in Turin in the Italian region of Piedmont. Fiat was founded in 1899 by a group of investors including Giovanni Agnelli...
's tilting train
Tilting train
A tilting train is a train that has a mechanism enabling increased speed on regular rail tracks. As a train rounds a curve at speed, objects inside the train experience centrifugal force. This can cause packages to slide about or seated passengers to feel squashed by the outboard armrest due to...
pendolino
Pendolino
Pendolino is an Italian family of tilting trains used in Italy, Spain, Portugal, Slovenia, Finland, Russian Federation, the Czech Republic, the United Kingdom, Slovakia, Switzerland, China and shortly in Romania and Poland...
technology and built by Alstom
Alstom
Alstom is a large multinational conglomerate which holds interests in the power generation and transport markets. According to the company website, in the years 2010-2011 Alstom had annual sales of over €20.9 billion, and employed more than 85,000 people in 70 countries. Alstom's headquarters are...
. Fifty-three 9-car units were originally built for Virgin Trains
Virgin Trains
Virgin Trains is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. It operates long-distance passenger services on the West Coast Main Line between London, the West Midlands, North West England, North Wales and Scotland...
from 2001 to 2004 for operation on the West Coast Main Line
West Coast Main Line
The West Coast Main Line is the busiest mixed-traffic railway route in Britain, being the country's most important rail backbone in terms of population served. Fast, long-distance inter-city passenger services are provided between London, the West Midlands, the North West, North Wales and the...
(WCML), with a further four trains and 62 cars built 2009-2012. The original batch of trains were the last to be assembled at Alstom's Washwood Heath
Washwood Heath
Washwood Heath is a ward in Birmingham, within the formal district of Hodge Hill, roughly two miles north-east of Birmingham city centre, England...
plant, in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, before its closure in 2005.
The Class 390 is one of the fastest domestic electric multiple units operating in Britain, with a top speed of 140 mph; however limitations to track signalling systems restrict the units to a maximum speed of 125 mph (200 km/h) in service. In September 2006, the Pendolino set a new speed record, completing the 401 miles (645 km) length of the West Coast Main Line
West Coast Main Line
The West Coast Main Line is the busiest mixed-traffic railway route in Britain, being the country's most important rail backbone in terms of population served. Fast, long-distance inter-city passenger services are provided between London, the West Midlands, the North West, North Wales and the...
from Glasgow to London in 3 hours, 55 minutes, beating the 4 hours 14 minute record for the southbound run previously set in 1981 by its ancestor, British Rail
British Rail
British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
's Advanced Passenger Train
Advanced Passenger Train
The Advanced Passenger Train was an experimental tilting High Speed Train developed by British Rail during the 1970s and early 1980s....
. The APT retains the ultimate speed record for this route, having completed the northbound journey between London and Glasgow in 3 hours 52 minutes in 1984 which included a 5 minute delay due to a signal fault.
In September 2010, Virgin Trains and Alstom launched a co-branded Pendolino (390004) which was renamed "Alstom Pendolino" and carries a Virgin/Alstom livery on coaches A & K in recognition of the partership between Alstom and Virgin Trains.
Description
In 1997, when Virgin TrainsVirgin Trains
Virgin Trains is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. It operates long-distance passenger services on the West Coast Main Line between London, the West Midlands, North West England, North Wales and Scotland...
won the InterCity
InterCity (British Rail)
InterCity was introduced by British Rail in 1966 as a brand-name for its long-haul express passenger services ....
West Coast franchise, they made the decision to replace the train fleet they inherited with new trains. The old fleet consisted of British Rail Class 86
British Rail Class 86
The British Rail Class 86 was the standard electric locomotive built during the 1960s, developed as a result of testing with the earlier Classes 81, 82, 83, 84 and 85. One hundred of these locomotives were built from 1965-1966 by either English Electric at Vulcan Foundry, Newton-le-Willows, or...
, 87
British Rail Class 87
The British Rail Class 87 is a type of electric locomotive built from 1973-75 by British Rail Engineering Limited . 36 of these locomotives were built to work passenger services over the West Coast Main Line . They were the flagships of British Rail's electric locomotive fleet until the late 1980s,...
and 90
British Rail Class 90
The British Rail Class 90 electric locomotives were built by BREL at Crewe from 1987-1990. Each locomotive weighs 84.5 tonnes and has a top speed of . They operate from 25 kV AC overhead wires and produce...
electric locomotive
Electric locomotive
An electric locomotive is a locomotive powered by electricity from overhead lines, a third rail or an on-board energy storage device...
s, which operated in push-pull
Push-pull train
Push–pull is a mode of operation for locomotive-hauled trains allowing them to be driven from either end.A push–pull train has a locomotive at one end of the train, connected via some form of remote control, such as multiple-unit train control, to a vehicle equipped with a control cab at the other...
mode with Mk.2
British Rail Mark 2
The Mark 2 family of railway carriages were British Rail's second design of carriages. They were built by British Rail workshops between 1964 and 1975...
and Mk.3
British Rail Mark 3
British Rail's third design of standard carriage was designated 'Mark 3' , and was developed primarily for the InterCity 125 High Speed Train...
coaching stock. Virgin placed an order with Alstom
Alstom
Alstom is a large multinational conglomerate which holds interests in the power generation and transport markets. According to the company website, in the years 2010-2011 Alstom had annual sales of over €20.9 billion, and employed more than 85,000 people in 70 countries. Alstom's headquarters are...
/Fiat
Fiat
FIAT, an acronym for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino , is an Italian automobile manufacturer, engine manufacturer, financial, and industrial group based in Turin in the Italian region of Piedmont. Fiat was founded in 1899 by a group of investors including Giovanni Agnelli...
for the construction of new tilting train
Tilting train
A tilting train is a train that has a mechanism enabling increased speed on regular rail tracks. As a train rounds a curve at speed, objects inside the train experience centrifugal force. This can cause packages to slide about or seated passengers to feel squashed by the outboard armrest due to...
s.
Tilting trains were nothing new for the West Coast Main Line
West Coast Main Line
The West Coast Main Line is the busiest mixed-traffic railway route in Britain, being the country's most important rail backbone in terms of population served. Fast, long-distance inter-city passenger services are provided between London, the West Midlands, the North West, North Wales and the...
. Twenty years previously, British Rail
British Rail
British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
had developed the revolutionary, but ultimately unsuccessful, Class 370
British Rail Class 370
British Rail's Class 370 tilting trains, also referred to as APT-P , were the pre-production Advanced Passenger Train units...
Advanced Passenger Train
Advanced Passenger Train
The Advanced Passenger Train was an experimental tilting High Speed Train developed by British Rail during the 1970s and early 1980s....
(APT).
Fiat supplied much of the content of the Class 390 units, including the bodyshell and the bogies, whilst final assembly was carried out at Washwood Heath. The tilting technology was developed by SIG Switzerland (later FIAT-SIG, today ALSTOM). Two electromechanical
Electromechanics
In engineering, electromechanics combines the sciences of electromagnetism, of electrical engineering and mechanics. Mechanical engineering in this context refers to the larger discipline which includes chemical engineering, and other related disciplines. Electrical engineering in this context...
actuator
Actuator
An actuator is a type of motor for moving or controlling a mechanism or system. It is operated by a source of energy, usually in the form of an electric current, hydraulic fluid pressure or pneumatic pressure, and converts that energy into some kind of motion. An actuator is the mechanism by which...
s are used per car to achieve the desired tilting angle on curved stretches of track. The train can tilt to a maximum of eight degrees. In contrast to other Fiat tilting trains which use hydraulic
Hydraulics
Hydraulics is a topic in applied science and engineering dealing with the mechanical properties of liquids. Fluid mechanics provides the theoretical foundation for hydraulics, which focuses on the engineering uses of fluid properties. In fluid power, hydraulics is used for the generation, control,...
tilting actuators, the electromechanical systems offers lower maintenance cost and higher efficiency.
The new trains were intended to run at 140 mph (225 km/h), but the West Coast Main Line modernisation programme, which was an upgrade to the infrastructure to allow faster line speeds, ran over budget. Consequently plans were scaled back, and in a manner reminiscent of the introduction of the Intercity 225
InterCity 225
The InterCity 225 is a locomotive-hauled domestic train in the United Kingdom, comprising a Class 91 electric locomotive, nine Mark 4 coaches and a Driving Van Trailer...
, the lack of signalling upgrades resulted in the maximum line speed being restricted to 125 mph (200 km/h). Although this (and 140 mph) are well below BR's hopes for APT of 155 mi/h, but it does match the maximum speed of 125 mph (200 km/h) for the APT in passenger service (although one APT set reached 162 mph (261 km/h) in testing).
Fifty-three units were originally built, numbered 390001-390053. Each now has nine vehicles, although the first 34 sets were built as 8-car units, with the ninth vehicle built later and fitted into the unit during 2004. A further four 11-car sets were built 2009-2012 as well as 62 cars to enable 31 more trains to become 11-car sets. The August 2010 unit formation is described in the table below, with vehicles listed in the order they are formed in the unit:
| Vehicle numbers | Type | Description | Seating | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1ST | STD | Toilets | |||
| 69101-69153 | DMRF | Driving motor: first class open with kitchen | 18 | - | - |
| 69401-69453 | MF | Intermediate motor: first class open (with disabled seating) | 39 | - | 1(D) |
| 69501-69553 | PTF | "Quiet Zone" Intermediate trailer with pantograph: first class open | 44 | - | 1 |
| 69601-69653 | MF | Intermediate motor: first class open | 46 | - | 1 |
| 68801-68853 | TS | Intermediate trailer: standard class open | - | 76 | 1 |
| 69701-69753 | MS | Intermediate motor: standard class open (with disabled seating) | - | 66 | 1(D) |
| 69801-69853 | PTSRMB | Intermediate trailer with pantograph: standard class with shop/buffet | - | 48 | - |
| 69901-69953 | MS | Intermediate motor: standard class open (with disabled seating) | - | 64 | 1(D) |
| 69201-69253 | DMSO | Driving motor: "Quiet Zone" standard class open (with cycle storage) | - | 46 | 1 |
The units incorporate a number of innovations, including a walk-in shop in place of the traditional buffet/restaurant car, and extensive passenger visual information systems on the inside of the car ends and on the outside of the doors. Following criticisms of the pressure- operated automatic gangway doors of the older Mark 3
British Rail Mark 3
British Rail's third design of standard carriage was designated 'Mark 3' , and was developed primarily for the InterCity 125 High Speed Train...
and Mark 4
British Rail Mark 4
British Rail's fourth design of passenger carriages was designated Mark 4, designed for use in InterCity 225 sets on the newly-electrified East Coast Main Line between London, Leeds, and Edinburgh.-History and construction:...
carriages (which could easily be held open by items of luggage resting on the floor sensor, allowing draughts into the passenger saloon), the gangway doors on the 390 sets are of the pushbutton "open on demand" type. All seats originally had an on board entertainment system over which Virgin broadcasted a number of pre-recorded music channels. This feature was disabled in March 2010 to make way for the new on board WiFi
WIFI
WIFI is a radio station broadcasting a brokered format. Licensed to Florence, New Jersey, USA, the station is currently operated by Florence Broadcasting Partners, LLC.This station was previously owned by Real Life Broadcasting...
provided by T-Mobile
T-Mobile
T-Mobile International AG is a German-based holding company for Deutsche Telekom AG's various mobile communications subsidiaries outside Germany. Based in Bonn, Germany, its subsidiaries operate GSM and UMTS-based cellular networks in Europe, the United States, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands...
. Each seating row has a dot-matrix LCD display to indicate the reservation status of each seat; this was intended to replace the conventional printed labels which were manually inserted by the train crew.
The coaches also incorporate steps which automatically extend to platform level when the doors are opened. This feature was first seen on the APT-P, which as mentioned above is a distant ancestor of the Pendolino. The windows are fitted with roll-down blinds. For the summer period coach G (MFO) has been re-classified as standard class to provide extra standard-class capacity.
Current operations
2002 Commonwealth Games
The 2002 Commonwealth Games were held in Manchester, England from 25 July to 4 August 2002. The XVII Commonwealth Games was the largest multi-sport event ever to be held in the UK, eclipsing London's 1948 Summer Olympics in numbers of teams and athletes participating.After the 1996 Manchester...
in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
. Over the next few months they began to monopolise the Manchester services, and were soon introduced onto routes to Liverpool Lime Street
Liverpool Lime Street railway station
Liverpool Lime Street is a railway station serving the city centre of Liverpool, England. The station lies on a branch of the West Coast Main Line from London Euston, and on the Wirral Line of the Merseyrail network...
, Birmingham New Street, Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. For Eurostat purposes Walsall and Wolverhampton is a NUTS 3 region and is one of five boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "West Midlands" NUTS 2 region...
and Preston. By late 2003 the last of the elderly Class 86
British Rail Class 86
The British Rail Class 86 was the standard electric locomotive built during the 1960s, developed as a result of testing with the earlier Classes 81, 82, 83, 84 and 85. One hundred of these locomotives were built from 1965-1966 by either English Electric at Vulcan Foundry, Newton-le-Willows, or...
locomotives had been withdrawn owing to the introduction of the Pendolinos.
2004 saw their sphere of operation expand further. The units started to operate services to , and by the end of summer, in theory all services north of Preston were worked by Class 390 units. This allowed the final Class 90
British Rail Class 90
The British Rail Class 90 electric locomotives were built by BREL at Crewe from 1987-1990. Each locomotive weighs 84.5 tonnes and has a top speed of . They operate from 25 kV AC overhead wires and produce...
locomotives to be withdrawn, and inroads were made into the main Class 87
British Rail Class 87
The British Rail Class 87 is a type of electric locomotive built from 1973-75 by British Rail Engineering Limited . 36 of these locomotives were built to work passenger services over the West Coast Main Line . They were the flagships of British Rail's electric locomotive fleet until the late 1980s,...
fleet. It was expected that all locomotive-hauled trains would have been replaced by the end of 2004, but the Pendolinos suffered from several technical problems, which granted the Class 87s a stay of execution. By January 2005, only eight locomotives remained, for use on peak London Euston-Birmingham New Street services.
Another development in 2004 was the clearing of the units for the North Wales Coast Line
North Wales Coast Line
The North Wales Coast Line is the railway line from Crewe to Holyhead. Virgin Trains consider their services along it to be a spur of the West Coast Main Line. The first section from Crewe to Chester was built by the Chester and Crewe Railway and absorbed by the Grand Junction Railway shortly...
from Crewe to Holyhead
Holyhead
Holyhead is the largest town in the county of Anglesey in the North Wales. It is also a major port adjacent to the Irish Sea serving Ireland....
. This line is not electrified, so Virgin's Class 57/3
British Rail Class 57
The Class 57 diesel locomotives were introduced by Brush Traction between 1997-2004. They are rebuilds, with reconditioned EMD engines, of former Class 47 locomotives, originally introduced in 1964-5.- Description :...
"Thunderbird" diesel locomotive
Diesel locomotive
A diesel locomotive is a type of railroad locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine, a reciprocating engine operating on the Diesel cycle as invented by Dr. Rudolf Diesel...
s are used to haul the electric units. After Virgin's loss of the crosscountry franchise, it introduced its remaining Class 221 "Super Voyagers" onto the coastal line, ending the practise of hauling the units from Crewe. As a diesel tilting train these do not require a Class 57 to haul them, rendering several redundant. These locomotives have special Dellner coupling adaptors and electrical systems that make them compatible with Pendolino trains, allowing failed units to be rescued. The Class 57s are also used when engineering works force Pendolino services to run over non-electrified diversionary routes.
Virgin Trains have named their entire fleet. Most carry promotional names such as "Virgin Valiant", "Virgin Crusader" and "Virgin King", but some have received traditional names such "City of London" and "City of Liverpool". The names are carried on the MFO (696xx) vehicle.
The entire Pendolino fleet is allocated to the (ALSTOM) Manchester Traincare Centre
Longsight Electric TMD
Longsight Electric TMD is an AC Electric railway locomotive Traction Maintenance Depot situated in Longsight, Manchester, England. The depot code is LG....
at Longsight
Longsight
Longsight is an area of Manchester, England, about south of the city centre. Its population is about 16,000.-History:Longsight has been known over the past for its gang related violence, similar to that of nearby Moss Side. Most of the violence came from tensions between 2 gangs; The Longsight...
, where heavy maintenance is carried out. Longsight boasts a hoist on which an entire Pendolino set can be lifted. Lighter maintenance, cleaning and overnight stabling is carried out at ALSTOM's other centres: Wembley (London), Oxley (Wolverhampton), Edge Hill
Edge Hill, Liverpool
Edge Hill is a district of Liverpool, England. It is located to the south east of Liverpool city centre, bordered by the city centre, Kensington, Wavertree and Toxteth. Edge Hill University was founded here, but moved to Ormskirk in the 1930s.-History:...
(Liverpool) and Polmadie (Greater Glasgow).
Pendolino names
| Number | Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 390-001 | Virgin Pioneer | |
| 390-002 | Virgin Angel | Formerly "Red Revolution" |
| 390-003 | Virgin Hero | |
| 390-004 | Alstom Pendolino | Formerly Virgin Scot |
| 390-005 | City of Wolverhampton | |
| 390-006 | Tate Liverpool | Formerly Virgin Sun |
| 390-007 | Virgin Lady | |
| 390-008 | Virgin King | |
| 390-009 | Treaty of Union | Formerly Virgin Queen |
| 390-010 | A Decade of Progress | Formerly Commonwealth Games 2002, then renamed Chris Green, then A Decade of Progress, after a book written by John Balmforth at Wolverhampton railway station on 8 May 2007. |
| 390-011 | City of Lichfield | |
| 390-012 | Virgin Star | Both versions of the Hornby Virgin Pendolino driving car model (R2467 & R2467X) hold the number 390012 |
| 390-013 | Virgin Spirit | |
| 390-014 | City of Manchester | |
| 390-015 | Virgin Crusader | |
| 390-016 | Virgin Champion | |
| 390-017 | Virgin Prince | |
| 390-018 | Virgin Princess | |
| 390-019 | Virgin Warrior | |
| 390-020 | Virgin Cavalier | |
| 390-021 | Virgin Dream | |
| 390-022 | Beth Tweddle MBE | Formerly Virgin Hope, then renamed Penny the Pendolino. |
| 390-023 | Virgin Glory | |
| 390-024 | Virgin Venturer | |
| 390-025 | Virgin Stagecoach Stagecoach A stagecoach is a type of covered wagon for passengers and goods, strongly sprung and drawn by four horses, usually four-in-hand. Widely used before the introduction of railway transport, it made regular trips between stages or stations, which were places of rest provided for stagecoach travelers... |
|
| 390-026 | Virgin Enterprise | |
| 390-027 | Virgin Buccaneer | Also carries the name Jessica Varnish. |
| 390-028 | City of Preston City of Preston, Lancashire The City of Preston is a city and non-metropolitan district in Lancashire, England. It is located on the north bank of the River Ribble, and was granted city status in 2002, becoming England's 50th city in the 50th year of Queen Elizabeth II's reign... |
|
| 390-029 | City of Stoke-on-Trent | |
| 390-030 | City of Edinburgh | |
| 390-031 | City of Liverpool | Decorative livery around the nameplate to commemorate the city's European Capital of Culture European Capital of Culture The European Capital of Culture is a city designated by theEuropean Union for a period of one calendar year during which it organises a series of cultural events with a strong European dimension.... status. |
| 390-032 | City of Birmingham | |
| 390-033 | City of Glasgow | Crashed at Grayrigg on 23 February 2007. Formally written off on 30 November 2007 with the undamaged cars sent to Crewe Training Centre |
| 390-034 | City of Carlisle City of Carlisle The City of Carlisle is a local government district of Cumbria, England, with the status of a city and non-metropolitan district. It is named after its largest settlement, Carlisle, but covers a far larger area which includes the towns of Brampton and Longtown, as well as outlying villages... |
|
| 390-035 | City of Lancaster City of Lancaster The City of Lancaster , is a local government district of Lancashire, England, with the status of a city and non-metropolitan district. It is named after its largest settlement, Lancaster, but covers a far larger area which includes the towns of Morecambe, Heysham, and Carnforth, as well as... |
|
| 390-036 | City of Coventry | |
| 390-037 | Virgin Difference | |
| 390-038 | City of London City of London The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of... |
|
| 390-039 | Virgin Quest | |
| 390-040 | Virgin Pathfinder | |
| 390-041 | City of Chester Chester Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the... |
|
| 390-042 | City of Bangor Dinas Bangor Bangor, Gwynedd Bangor is a city in Gwynedd, north west Wales, and one of the smallest cities in Britain. It is a university city with a population of 13,725 at the 2001 census, not including around 10,000 students at Bangor University. Including nearby Menai Bridge on Anglesey, which does not however form part of... |
Has a different nameplate on each side, one in English and the other in Welsh |
| 390-043 | Virgin Explorer | |
| 390-044 | Virgin Lionheart | |
| 390-045 | 101 Squadron | Formerly Virgin Valiant |
| 390-046 | Virgin Soldiers | |
| 390-047 | CLIC Sargent | Formerly Virgin Atlantic, and then Heaven's Angels after Virgin's record attempt to cover Glasgow-Euston in the shortest time recorded. It occurred on 22 September 2006. |
| 390-048 | Virgin Harrier | |
| 390-049 | Virgin Express | |
| 390-050 | Virgin Invader | |
| 390-051 | Virgin Ambassador | |
| 390-052 | Virgin Knight | Also carries the name Alison Waters |
| 390-053 | Mission Accomplished | |
| 390-054 | originally first new 11-car unit; reduced to 9-car for immediate entry into service |
Problems and incidents
The Pendolino stock has not been without its problems. In October 2004, a train overshot the platform at station and collided with the buffer stops, and a similar incident occurred only a few weeks later at the same station. The Rail Safety and Standards BoardRail Safety and Standards Board
The Rail Safety and Standards Board is an independent not-for-profit company, which was established in 2003, upon the recommendation of the public inquiry into the Ladbroke Grove rail crash...
's inquiry into the incident identified a software glitch
Glitch
A glitch is a short-lived fault in a system. It is often used to describe a transient fault that corrects itself, and is therefore difficult to troubleshoot...
in the wheel slip protection (WSP) system whereby the train's friction brakes were inhibited at low speeds after prolonged coasting (such as that occurring on approach to a station). The units were once again limited to 110 mi/h for a short period until modifications to the software were made.
The "smelly toilet" problem that has plagued Virgin's diesel trains, the Voyagers
British Rail Class 220
The Class 220 Voyager are a class of diesel-electric high-speed multiple-unit trains built by Bombardier Transportation in 2000 and 2001....
, has also been problematic in the 390 units. Odours evident in the vestibules have been attributed to the vents for the toilet tanks being next to the air conditioning inlets. Virgin and Alstom continue to work on the problem. Trials on different sets to solve this problem include air fresheners in vestibules, cleaning the retention tanks with a solution that Virgin Atlantic
Virgin Atlantic Airways
Virgin Atlantic Airways Limited is a British airline owned by Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group and Singapore Airlines...
use, replacing the pipework that extracts the waste from the toilet bowl and modifications to where the excess gas is ejected. As of July 2010, this has still not been solved.
As a result of the smaller cabin dimensions necessitated by the tilting geometry, the higher floor needed to package the tilting mechanisms themselves, and the need to provide disabled toilets, the units have a lower seating capacity
Seating capacity
Seating capacity refers to the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, both in terms of the physical space available, and in terms of limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that seats two to a stadium that seats...
than the nine-car Mark 2 and Mark 3 rakes that they replaced. The result has been severe overcrowding on some peak time services, something that Virgin has mitigated through the increased frequency of service.
The smaller size of the Pendolino windows has attracted comment and, in fact, the window size is unprecedented for British railway rolling stock. The wider window pillars mean that in some standard class carriages, 22.5% of the seats are parallel with either no window or only a limited portion of one, however the roll-over strength of the bodyshell was commented on regarding the crashworthiness performance of the train in the RAIB Accident Report into the derailment at Grayrigg
Grayrigg derailment
On 23 February 2007, a faulty set of pointsRailroad switch
A railroad switch, turnout or [set of] points is a mechanical installation enabling railway trains to be guided from one track to another at a railway junction....
caused a Virgin Trains Pendolino to derail
Derailment
A derailment is an accident on a railway or tramway in which a rail vehicle, or part or all of a train, leaves the tracks on which it is travelling, with consequent damage and in many cases injury and/or death....
near Grayrigg
Grayrigg
Grayrigg is a small village and civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England. It lies on undulated and partly mountainous land, north east of Kendal, on the north side of the West Coast Main Line, and west side of the M6 motorway....
in Cumbria
Cumbria
Cumbria , is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's largest settlement and county town is Carlisle. It consists of six districts, and in...
. The train, unit 390 033, named "City Of Glasgow", formed the 17:15 departure from London Euston bound for Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
’s Central station. 115 people were on board, one of whom was killed. The train's excellent crashworthiness
Crashworthiness
Crashworthiness is the ability of a structure to protect its occupants during an impact. This is commonly tested when investigating the safety of aircraft and vehicles. Depending on the nature of the impact and the vehicle involved, different criteria are used to determine the crashworthiness of...
was credited with preventing more fatalities.
The train was formally written off on 30 November 2007, owing to the prohibitive cost of repair against the price of a new set; a driving car and carriage from the train have subsequently been put into use for training purposes at the Virgin Trains Talent Academy in Crewe. Virgin trains has since leased a Class 90, Mk3 coaches and a DVT (Driving Van Trailer
Driving Van Trailer
A Driving Van Trailer is a purpose-built railway vehicle that allows the driver to operate a locomotive at the opposite end of a train. Trains operating with a DVT therefore do not require the locomotive to be moved around to the other end of the train at terminal stations...
), all painted in Virgin's new livery, and affectionately nicknamed the "Pretendolino" by Alstom maintenance staff, as a replacement for the train written off.
Future
Department for Transport
In the United Kingdom, the Department for Transport is the government department responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland which are not devolved...
has announced a capacity increase by procuring additional sets (with one intended to replace the unit damaged at Grayrigg). Four new sets will be built with 11 cars, and an existing 31 will be lengthened to 11 cars. This will require major infrastructure changes to allow stations and depots to accommodate the 11-car units. Virgin Rail Projects will work to introduce these new trains with the new franchise winner as well as Alstom, Network Rail and the current franchise holder, Virgin Trains West Coast to ensure the new sets will be able to run from 1 April 2012.
With the closure of the Washwood Heath works, any additional vehicles will be manufactured in Alstom's Savigliano
Savigliano
Savigliano is a comune of Piedmont, northern Italy, in the Province of Cuneo, c. 50 kilometers south of Turin by rail....
factory in Italy.
In July/August 2008, a contract was signed between Angel Trains and Virgin to take on two Class 180 trains to replace the current arrangement of a Class 90
British Rail Class 90
The British Rail Class 90 electric locomotives were built by BREL at Crewe from 1987-1990. Each locomotive weighs 84.5 tonnes and has a top speed of . They operate from 25 kV AC overhead wires and produce...
and MK3 rake, but in October 2008, Virgin West Coast cancelled this agreement as it had procured a lease on a rake of Mk 3 rolling stock, their preferred choice over the Class 180 DMUs.
In June 2010, it was announced that the new units would be placed in store until the planned start of the new West Coast franchise in 2012. This provoked some criticism given the overcrowding in place on the WCML, which the new trains were intended to alleviate. However, in August 2010, it was announced that East Coast
East Coast (train operating company)
East Coast is a British train operating company running high-speed passenger services on the East Coast Main Line between London, Yorkshire, the North East and Scotland...
had been asked by the DfT to bring into service at least one of the new 11-car units on the East Coast Main Line
East Coast Main Line
The East Coast Main Line is a long electrified high-speed railway link between London, Peterborough, Doncaster, Wakefield, Leeds, York, Darlington, Newcastle and Edinburgh...
for a period of nine months from July 2011, after which it would be returned to the West Coast franchise. East Coast
East Coast (train operating company)
East Coast is a British train operating company running high-speed passenger services on the East Coast Main Line between London, Yorkshire, the North East and Scotland...
never used the unit but instead lease an extra InterCity 125
InterCity 125
The InterCity 125 was the brand name of British Rail's High Speed Train fleet. The InterCity 125 train is made up of two power cars, one at each end of a fixed formation of Mark 3 carriages, and is capable of , making the train the fastest diesel-powered locomotive in regular service in the...
set from East Midlands Trains
East Midlands Trains
East Midlands Trains is a British passenger train operating company. Based in Derby, it provides train services in the East Midlands, chiefly in the counties of Lincolnshire, South Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Northamptonshire, and between the East Midlands and London...
.
The first new sets have been built with 11 cars and delivered via Dollands Moor to Edge Hill. On 14 July 2011, the Virgin Trains Media Room on their website announced that Chief Operating Officer, Chris Gibb accepted the train (as a 9 coach set) from Alstom Transport UK Managing Director, Paul Robinson and Malcolm Brown, Angel Trains’ Chief Executive, at Alstom’s Edge Hill Traincare Centre in Liverpool on 12 July.
Fleet details
| Class | Operator | No. Built | Year Built | Cars per Set | Unit nos. | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Class 390 | Virgin Trains | 53 | 2001-2004 | 9 | 390001-390032 390034-390053 |
390033 written off 31 units to be lengthened to 11 cars (yet to take place). |
| 1 | 2009 | 390054 | 390054 originally first new 11-car unit; reduced to 9-car for immediate entry into service | |||
| Stored | 3 | 2009-2012 | 11 | 390055-390057 | New sets purchased as part of extra 106 vehicle order. |