British Rail Class 390

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British Rail Class 390 "Pendolino"
Class 390 no. 390029 "City of Stoke-on-Trent" at Birmingham New Street on 24 September 2003 with a service to Wolverhampton. These units now work the majority of Virgin West Coast services.
In service	23 July 2002 - Current
Manufacturer	Alstom, Washwood Heath (Fiat tilting system)
Family name	Pendolino
Number built	53 trainsets
Formation	9 cars per trainset
Capacity	145 first class seats 294 standard class seats
Operator	Virgin Trains
Lines served	West Coast Main Line
Specifications
Car body	Aluminium
Car length	24.1 m
Width	2.9 m
Height	2.73 m
Maximum speed	140 mph (225 km/h) [Design] 125 mph (200 km/h) [Service]
Weight	466 t
Power output	5.1 MW
Gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8½ in)
Voltage	25 kV AC Overhead
Braking system	Regenerative, Rheostatic, Disc

The British Class 390 "Pendolino" electric multiple unit is a tilting train built by Fiat Ferroviaria utilising Fiat tilt systems. Fifty-three 9-car units were built for Virgin Trains from 2001 to 2004. These trains were the last to be assembled at Alstom's Washwood Heath plant, in Birmingham, before its closure in 2005.

The Class 390 is the fastest domestic electric multiple unit operating in Britain, with a top speed of 140mph; however limitations to track signalling systems restrict the units to a maximum speed of 125 mph (200 km/h). 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 spiritual predecessor, British Rail's Advanced Passenger Train. By comparison the APT still retains the ultimate speed record for this route, having completed the northbound journey between London and Glasgow in 3 hours 52 minutes in 1984.^[1]

[edit] Description

In 1997, when 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 locomotives, 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 trains.

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). Despite their failure in revenue-earning service, much of the technology was used in later designs of tilting train, so the Class 390 could be considered the de facto successor to the APT. Indeed, the technology developed for the APT was eventually sold to Fiat. The Italian firm supplied much of the content of the units, including the bodyshell, whilst final assembly was carried out at Washwood Heath. The tilting technology was developed by FIAT and Germany-based ESW-Extel Systems Wedel. Two electromechanical actuators are used per car to achieve the desired tilting angle on curved stretches of track. 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 originally intended to run at 140 mph (225 km/h). However, the West Coast Mainline 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). Since the construction of the fleet, hardware modifications have been performed to reflect this lower speed, so the trains are now physically limited to 125 mph (200 km/h) passenger running. Unfortunately this (and 140 mph) are rather well below BR's hopes for APT of 155 mph, but this does equal 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 built, numbered 390001-390053. Each unit is formed of nine vehicles, but the first 34 sets were built as 8-car units, with the ninth vehicle built later and retro-fitted into the unit during 2004. The 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 located on the inside of the car ends and on the exterior of the doors. Following criticisms of the pressure operated automatic gangway doors of the older Mark 3 and Mark 4 carriages (they could easily be held open by items of luggage resting on the floor sensor, therefore allowing draughts into the passenger saloon), the gangway doors on the 390 sets are of the pushbutton "open on demand" type, however these have been criticised due to automatically closing on passengers waiting to leave the train. All seats incorporate aircraft-style plug in radio/entertainment systems over which Virgin broadcasts a number of pre-recorded music channels. Each seating row is equipped with a dot-matrix LCD display that indicates the reservation status of each seat which was intended to replace the conventional printed labels which were manually inserted by the train crew. However, the system has proven unreliable, and the old paper based method is still used.

The coaches also incorporate steps which automatically extend to platform level when the doors are opened, although - interestingly - 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 window blinds.

[edit] Current operations

Class 390, no. 390045 "Virgin Valiant" at Carlisle on 27 August 2004, whilst forming a Glasgow Central to London Euston express. In common with the rest of the fleet, this unit is painted in the latest Virgin Trains silver and red livery.

Class 390, no. 390012 cab interior at Glasgow Central Station, Scotland.

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, due to the introduction of the Pendolinos.

2004 saw their sphere of operation expand further. The units started to operate services to Glasgow Central, 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, thus giving the Class 87s a stay of execution. By January 2005, only eight locomotives remained, however, used on peak London Euston-Birmingham New Street services. It is expected they will be retained for a few months while the Pendolinos undergo modifications to increase reliability.

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 locomotives are used to haul and push the electric units. 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" or "Virgin King". However, some have received traditional names such "City of London" or "City of Liverpool". 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).

[edit] Pendolino names

[edit] Problems and incidents

The nameplate of 390001 - "Virgin Pioneer"

The nameplate of 390021 - "Virgin Dream"

The Pendolino stock has not been without criticism. In October 2004, a train overshot its platform upon arrival into Liverpool Lime Street 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 Board's inquiry into the event identified a software glitch in the wheel slip regulation system whereby the train's friction brakes were inhibited at low speeds after a prolonged coasting (such as that encountered on the approach into a station). The units were once again limited to 110 mph for a short period until modifications to the system software were made.

The "smelly toilet" problem that has plagued the Pendolino's diesel counterparts, the Voyagers, has also haunted the 390 units. Odours evident in the vestibules have been attributed to the vents for the toilet tanks being adjacent 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 pipe work that extracts the waste from the toilet bowl and modifications to where the excess gas is ejected.

The heavy weight of the trains caused considerably increased track wear. In 2006 the Pendolino was singled out for criticism by the then United Kingdom secretary of state for transport Alistair Darling due to its high weight per passenger causing both track wear and reducing the environmental benefit of travel by train. 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 lower seating capacity than the nine-car Mark 3 formations that they replaced. Fewer (and smaller) windows than the old rolling stock has also attracted criticism for making the Pendolino's cabin interiors seem darker and claustrophobic, although the thicker window pillars are part of the coaches' improved rollover protection.

The trains have also been criticised for providing less space for cycle carriage due to the lack of a guards van, coinciding with increased demand for cycle space by passengers, the current solution being a stricter system of advance cycle reservations being imposed by Virgin trains.

[edit] Grayrigg derailment

Main article: Grayrigg derailment

On 23 February 2007 a faulty set of points caused a Virgin Trains Pendolino to derail near Grayrigg, Cumbria. The train, unit 390 033, named "City Of Glasgow", formed the 1715 departure from London Euston bound for Glasgow’s Central station. The train had 115 people 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. This has led to Virgin hiring a Class 90 from EWS as well as a rake of coaching stock to cover for the missing unit.^[3]

[edit] The future

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) there will 4 new sets built formed of 11 cars, and lengthening of 31 existing sets up to 11-car length.^[4] This will require major infrastructure changes, to allow stations and depots to accommodate the 11-car units.

With the closure of the Washwood Heath works, any additional vehicles will be manufactured in Alstom's factories in Italy. ^[5]

There is now talk of another 23 class 390s being delivered. These units would replace the Voyagers between Birmingham and Glasgow/Edingburgh. This would free up the Voyagers for return to Cross Country and North Wales services. This could be done by 2014.

[edit] Models

Hornby Model Railways are currently selling a model of the Class 390 012 in '00' Gauge. It comes in a pack of four, with the two ends of the train along with two of the centre cars. They also provide the remaining five carriages so that a full rake can be completed. Probably setting the cost for a full rake at over £200. The name of the unit is 'Virgin Star'.

[edit] See also

• Pendolino

[edit] Notes and references

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Pendolino

• Rail Technology - Tilting Train Technology -United Kingdom
• Virgin Cuts Speed of Pendolino
• Virgin Trains
• Pendolino Tour - Virgin Trains
• Virgin Trains Pendolino Seat Plans from V-Flyer, customer created site.