British Rail Class 220
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| British Rail Class 220 "Voyager" | |
|---|---|
 CrossCountry Voyager at Birmingham New Street Station |
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| In service | 2001 - Present |
| Manufacturer | Bombardier |
| Family name | Voyager |
| Number built | 34 trainsets |
| Formation | 4 cars per trainset |
| Operator | CrossCountry |
| Specifications | |
| Maximum speed | 125mph (200kp/h) |
| Engine | Cummins QSK19 |
| Braking system | Rheostatic |
| Safety systems | AWS, TPWS |
The Class 220 Voyager is a class of diesel-electric high-speed multiple-unit trains built by Bombardier Transportation for the British train operating company Virgin Trains, but now operated by CrossCountry. They are the mainstay of the long-distance trains in Britain that do not terminate in London. They are air-conditioned throughout, with powered doors and a top speed of 125mph (200km/h). They were introduced to replace the thirty-year-old High Speed Train and Class 47 fleets. The class were built from 2001-2003 and the first unit entered service on 5 June 2001.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Technical Details
Below are the Technical details for the Class 220 Voyager.[2]
[edit] Engine
All coaches are equipped with a Cummins QSK19 diesel engine of 560kW (750hp) at 1800rpm. This powers a generator which supplies current to motors driving two axles per coach. 1350 miles can be travelled between refuelling.
[edit] Formation
There are 34 Class 220 trains; numbered 220001 to 220034. They provide 26 seats in first class and 162 in standard. All vehicles are air-conditioned and fitted with at-seat audio entertainment systems and power sockets for laptop computers and mobile phone charging.
The formation of a four car Class 220 Voyager is as follows:
- Coach A - First Class and driving cab
- Coach C - Standard Class
- Coach D - Standard Class with Shop/Buffet counter
- Coach F - Standard Class (Quiet Zone) with driving cab and reservable space for four bikes
The first class coach has a yellow rectangle on its front coupler to aid identification as a train approaches a station, as the nature of the Cross-Country network means that trains often get turned around. All Voyagers are maintained at the Central Rivers depot near Burton-on-Trent.
The train interiors provide toilets for disabled people and storage facilities for bicycles.
[edit] Brakes
Voyagers make use of rheostatic brakes. This system brakes the train by using the motors of the train in reverse to generate electricity which is then dissipated as heat through resistors situated in a grid on the roof of each coach. This slows the train and saves on brake shoe wear. However, these systems have caused problems: the resistors are known to reach temperatures of up to 500°C. In one incident a small piece of wood from a tree had become lodged in these grids, which then started a fire on the roof of the train. This resulted in the train being evacuated at Cheltenham Spa
[edit] Couplers
The Voyagers have Dellner couplers fitted which are the same type of couplers as the Class 390 Pendolino electric units used by Virgin's West Coast trains, and they can be coupled together in the event of a failure, although as the electrical systems are not compatible they are not coupled in normal service. The units are also capable of being pulled by Virgin's 'Thunderbirds', humorously named after the eponymous TV series, which are Class 57/3 used for rescue of failed trains.
[edit] Similar Units
The principal differences between the Class 220 and otherwise very similar Class 221 Super Voyager fleet are that the Class 220 is not designed to tilt when going around curves in order to allow higher speeds while the Class 221 is and that the Class 221 usually consists of five coaches rather than the Class 220's four.
The requirement to tilt means that the bogies are very different in appearance. On the Class 220 the axles are supported by bearings between the wheels and the outside face of the wheel is visible. The bogies of the Class 221 have outside bearings and the wheels are obscured from view by the frames.
When operated by Virgin the the two types had differently coloured Virgin 'shield' logos on the nose of the train to aid identification; the Class 220 had a silver background to the shields and the Class 221 red.
The Hull Trains and East Midlands Trains Class 222 (Meridian) units are also similar, but more closely related to the Class 221 in that they are also designed to tilt. They have a revised front and are, according to Bombardier Transportation, '80% new train'.
[edit] Operators
[edit] Virgin Trains
Virgin Trains were the sole operator of all Voyager trains when they were introduced in 2001, but this changed when the new CrossCountry rail franchise began on November 11 2007. Until 8th December 2007 the Voyager fleet was shared between Virgin Trains and CrossCountry. Virgin Trains no longer operate any Class 220s. They still operate some Class 221s for their West Coast services.
[edit] CrossCountry
As the winner of the new Cross Country franchise, CrossCountry have now inherited all of the 34 Voyagers from Virgin Cross-Country. CrossCountry have the following plans regarding the Voyager trains[3].
- They wish to introduce more services on key routes.
- Although initially CrossCountry decided that the shops would be taken out of the train, they have now decided not to because both of the extent of the structural work and the requirement to reinstate the shops prior to lease expiry, this has led to complaints from Virgin trains who re-bid for the franchise, as each company put forward clear targets and ideas only for Arriva to change this once the franchise was secured.
[edit] Voyager Names
Virgin Trains named all the Class 220 Voyagers after places which they serve or companies which have relations with Virgin Trains. When the Class 220s were transferred to the new operator CrossCountry they were de-named. This table shows the names which the Voyagers had under Virgin Trains operation. The table also shows which Voyagers are now in CrossCountry colours; as of 18th May 2008 17 of the 34 Voyagers are in the CrossCountry Colours:[4]
| 220 001* | Somerset Voyager | 220 018 | Dorset Voyager |
| 220 002* | Forth Voyager | 220 019* | Mersey Voyager |
| 220 003* | Solent Voyager | 220 020 | Wessex Voyager |
| 220 004 | Cumbrian Voyager | 220 021* | Staffordshire Voyager |
| 220 005* | Guildford Voyager | 220 022* | Brighton Voyager |
| 220 006* | Clyde Voyager | 220 023 | Mancunian Voyager |
| 220 007 | Thames Voyager | 220 024 | Sheffield Voyager |
| 220 008* | Welsh Dragon | 220 025* | Severn Voyager |
| 220 009 | Gatwick Voyager | 220 026* | Stagecoach Voyager |
| 220 010 | Ribble Voyager | 220 027* | Avon Voyager |
| 220 011* | Tyne Voyager | 220 028* | Black Country Voyager |
| 220 012* | Lanarkshire Voyager | 220 029* | Cornish Voyager |
| 220 013 | South Wales Voyager | 220 030 | Devon Voyager |
| 220 014* | South Yorkshire Voyager | 220 031* | Tay Voyager |
| 220 015 | Solway Voyager | 220 032 | Grampian Voyager |
| 220 016 | Midland Voyager | 220 033 | Fife Voyager |
| 220 017* | BOMBARDIER Voyager | 220 034 | Yorkshire Voyager |
- (*) Is in CrossCountry livery.
[edit] Problems
Voyagers are about half the length of their predecessors (4 or 5 cars compared to 7 previously), proponents of the units counter by pointing to the increased frequencies at which the trains operate. Therefore overall capacity is said to be at least equal to, or in some cases greater than, the trains they replaced. However, some critics have noted that in areas where frequencies have not increased (such as at the extremes of the network, and where services are limited), or in areas where trains carry large amounts of commuter or holiday traffic, Voyagers do sometimes struggle to cope with these loadings. Even if frequencies are increased, commuters still all pick the same "key" commuter train, resulting in overcrowding on that service.
Many point out that the interior of the Voyager units suffer from much increased noise and vibration when compared to the non-powered Mark 2 and Mark 3 coaching stock they replaced, or compared to electric multiple units, due to the underfloor diesel engines. This might have had the effect of deterring a few passengers.
The profile of the bodyshells is designed to allow clearance for tilting (although the Class 220s do not tilt, they use the same shell as the Class 221), this reduces the interior space, particularly above the waist.
The electric interior doors close on a timer and do not have movement sensors to detect if a passenger happens to be walking through them or not. This often results on doors closing on passengers, unless the 'open' button is pressed again quickly.
Christopher Garnett, former Chief Exectutive of rival operator Great North Eastern Railway considered them "cheap and nasty"[5].
The trains have also been criticised for providing less space for cycle carriage due to the lack of a guard's van, coinciding with increased demand for cycle space by passengers, the current solution being a stricter system of advance cycle reservations being imposed by CrossCountry.
Also, the "smelly toilet" condition in which smells from the toilets plagued the train, which was caused by superheated exhaust fumes passing near to sewage tanks, has apparently been fixed since.
[edit] Fleet Details
| Class | Operator | No. Built | Year Built | Cars per Set | Unit nos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Class 220 | CrossCountry | 34 | 2002 | 4 | 220001 - 220034 |
[edit] Models
Bachmann Europe PLC have produced a model of the Class 220's in 00 gauge, currently available in their original Virgin livery. They have also have announced that they will be releasing a model in the current CrossCountry livery as part of their 2008 range. They have not yet provided a release date for this model.
[edit] References
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Virgin Trains web site
- Voyager tour and gallery (from Virgin Trains)
- Virgin Trains Voyager Seat Plans from V-Flyer, customer created site.
- Voyager and Super Voyager official web sites (from Bombardier)
- Class 220 pictures
- Testing the class 220's
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