Rolling stock
the leisure market outside the peaks. He believes the extra carriages will stabilise overcrowding for about three years. On the 06:07 and the 07:09 from
Oxford there are twice as many people as there are seats. With electrification due in 2016, it is still likely to be up to seven years before all the travellers get on new rolling stock. For passengers, that still means things will get worse before they get better. In the meantime, Wabtec is also
refurbishing five five-car Class 180 Adelante trains for the North Cotswolds route from Worcester, releasing Turbo commuter trains to ease the strain elsewhere. Although only 12 years old, the Alstom-built trains are also being stripped back to bare metal, and the interiors are being entirely replaced. Power points are being installed for
each pair of seats. The unloved trains were withdrawn by FGW five years ago, as their reliability never matched that of the ageing HST fleet. But now rising demand has left Hopwood with no choice but to bring them back. He says modifications being made in Kilmarnock should improve their performance. Two Class 150 trains have also
been brought in from London Midland to lengthen the busy shuttle service connecting Basingstoke and Reading. And
Bristol gets an extra 924 seats a day to ease local congestion. First Great Western’s efforts have
been widely welcomed by passenger groups. ‘There really aren’t many more carriages they can find to refurbish,’ said Christopher Irwin, chairman of TravelWatch SouthWest. ‘Until we get electrification and new trains – assuming we do actually get what we have been promised – more and more passengers will have to fit into a finite amount of space. And they are paying some of the highest fares in the country for that pleasure.’ For the train operator, which has seen
performance dip in recent months, the additional carriages are a statement of intent for the franchising competition that is under way. FirstGroup declined to take up
the option of a final three years of its current contract, because it would have involved an impossible £600m of premium payments for a business which is in revenue support – it receives tens of millions of pounds a year from the government. That is because, even with current
remarkable growth in passenger numbers, it is not reaching the expectations of the overly ambitious agreement it originally signed with the Department for Transport. Stagecoach, Arriva, National
‘The only choice is whether to stand in the aisle or in the vestibule for the 30-minute ride into London’
Express and Renfe all fancy replacing First Group, which has held the Great Western since privatisation in 1996. A winner will be announced in the autumn, with a new franchise starting a year from now. The extra carriages will make life
better for hard-pressed commuters. But the additional 84 seats each vehicle provides will not mean everyone gets a seat; hundreds will still be standing. ‘Anything has to be better than this,’
grumbled another passenger on the 07:40 into Paddington, wedged uncomfortably against a door. ‘Look, I wear trainers for this journey and carry my office shoes because you can’t travel like this in heels.’ It did not matter that she was blocking
access for others; nobody would get past the crush of passengers standing in the aisle right through the adjoining carriage. ‘I have no choice but travel on this service. I have to get to work. But I wish I didn’t.’
APRIL 2012 PAGE 27
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