Can Hayabusa stop the Japanese Not-Wired?
Pan Up
After my ‘Imagine – Midland main line’ article in the August 2017 issue, a reader wrote in asking why the Mk 4 coaches displaced by ‘Azumas’ from the East Coast route were not transferred to the Midland and hauled by HST power cars. I didn’t originally go for this as there are three problems, which are:-
■ Different train supply (1,000V single phase versus 440V three-phase, variable frequency);
■ Weight (Mk 3 weighs 34 tonnes, Mk 4 weighs 41 tonnes);
■ They are not new (loses DfT brownie points).
I therefore proposed new trailer car sets, which would be diesel-hauled pending the dawn of intelligence and electrification on to Sheffield. My other idea was to power the train supply from the overhead where it was available using a Swiss-style pantograph-fitted trailer. This approach also has three problems, which are:-
■ It’s too late to build them before the disability-provision deadline, now 21 months away;
■ The pantograph vehicle is expensive and needs a safety case;
■ The DfT and Network Rail don’t like locos (heathens).
At this point do we just roll over and seed the ground for the Japanese Not-Wired? No, we do not.
THE ONLY WAY
The Mk 4 solution is now the on…
