Central Trains
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| Franchise(s): | Central 1997 – November 2007 |
| Main Region(s): | Midlands |
| Other Region(s): | North West, East Anglia |
| Fleet size: | 156 |
| Stations: | 232 (193 operated) |
| Parent company: | National Express Group |
| Web site: | www.centraltrains.co.uk |
Central Trains is a train operating company in the United Kingdom, running local and cross-country "Citylink" trains in central England. The company’s operations are centred on Birmingham in the West Midlands.
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[edit] Overview
The franchise covers 1300 miles of the busiest lines in the UK, three times more than Midland Mainline, calling at 300 stations, and has more than half a million passenger-journeys a week.
On 19 October 2004, Transport Secretary Alistair Darling announced that at the end of the current franchise in 2006, Central Trains’s routes will be divided between the Silverlink, Chiltern, Virgin Cross Country, Midland Mainline and Northern Rail franchises.[1] The end of the franchise has now been delayed until November 2007 (See The Future).
In 2006 the company took the step of producing posters with lists of names and addresses of those who had been fined for ticket evasion.[2]
From a low pre-privatisation base, the company now has £74 million worth of new trains, replacing the slam-door rolling stock it inherited with the modern Class 350 ‘Desiros’, which it shares with sister-company Silverlink. It has also refurbished many of its stations, introducing ticket gates and live information boards, and clamped down on vandalism on its trains.
Central Trains is owned by the National Express Group, and employs over 2,400 staff.[3]
[edit] Network
Central Trains serves 232 stations in the Midlands, North East, North West and East Anglia. Most services are operated in Central Trains colours except for services in the West Midlands county which operate under contract to Centro, the West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive and operate in the Centro livery. Central Trains services are split into Central Trains CityLink, Centro and Local services as of 2006 these are the main services they operate.
[edit] CityLink Services
- Birmingham New Street - Liverpool Lime Street
- Birmingham New Street - Preston (one evening peak service Northbound, no Southbound service)
- Birmingham New Street - Stansted Airport via Leicester
- Cardiff Central - Nottingham via Birmingham New Street
- Liverpool - Norwich via Manchester, Sheffield and Nottingham
[edit] Local Services
- Birmingham New Street - Liverpool Lime Street
- Birmingham New Street - Shrewsbury
- Birmingham New Street - Northampton via Coventry
- Birmingham New Street - Leicester via Nuneaton
- Nuneaton - Coventry
- Stafford - Hanley via Stoke-on-Trent (Bus service)
- Crewe - Northampton via West Coast Mainline (some services continue to London Euston)
- Sheffield/Doncaster - Peterborough via Lincoln
- Nottingham - Lincoln via Newark
- Newark North Gate/Newark Castle - Grimsby/Cleethorpes via Lincoln
- Nottingham - Skegness via Sleaford
- Derby - Matlock
- Derby - Crewe via Stoke-on-Trent
- Derby - Nottingham
- Birmingham - Nottingham via Derby
- Nottingham - Loughborough - Leicester
- Nottingham - Sheffield via Chesterfield
- Nottingham - Worksop via Mansfield
[edit] Centro Services
- Birmingham - Wolverhampton
- Birmingham - Walsall
- Birmingham - Stafford via Walsall
- Walsall - Wolverhampton
- Lichfield - Redditch via Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham New Street and Longbridge
- Hereford/Malvern/Worcester/Kidderminster/Stourbridge - Birmingham Snow Hill - Shirley/Dorridge/Leamington Spa/Stratford-upon-Avon
[edit] Reputation
Central Trains suffers from a reputation for poor service. Many services are overcrowded - especially during peak times.
The worst of Central’s problems can arguably be attributed to factors beyond its control. For example, unlike most other rail companies which run mostly north-south routes, Central‘s run mostly on east-west, on tracks which have seen comparatively less investment from owners Network Rail.
Similarly, Central Trains service's are judged by the tighter commuter route punctuality standards.
For example, the Liverpool to Norwich service takes over five hours to complete - travelling a distance of 253 miles. If a train on that route is 5 minutes late or over, the train is marked as 'late' in the punctuality statistics - whilst other train companies operating journeys of a similar distance/time are only judged 'late' when 10 minutes or over.
It's also worth mentioning that Central compete with many other train operators along routes. Between Liverpool and Manchester/Sheffield they share the line with Northern Trains and Transpennine Express, and from Sheffield the share with Midland Mainline and Virgin Cross Country. From Grantham they utilise the East Coast Mainline alongside GNER, and within the Anglian region they share with 'One' and First Capital Connect.
This invariably leads to regulation disputes and compounds Central's delays throughout the route - if a Central service departs Liverpool only 3 minutes late, this delay can possibly exacerbate until it arrives into Norwich 30+ minutes late. This problem is evident on many of its routes.
[edit] Rolling Stock
When National Express Group took over Central Trains in 1997, the company started to dispose of its last 1960s and 70s ‘slam door’ trains. By 2000, all older trains were out of service,[4] and the franchise operated a fleet of one and two carriage Diesel multiple unit railcars, mostly inherited from Regional Railways the division of British Rail that preceded Central.
These 'Sprinters' were introduced during the nineteen-eighties, in line with a policy of replacing locomotive hauled trains with shorter but more frequent single class rail car services. Soon after the franchise was awarded in March 1997, 33 new Class 170 100mph air-conditioned Turbostar trains were ordered,[5] continuing the arguably mistaken strategy of operating short fixed-configuration railcars rather than longer or more flexible trains.
Central Trains have recently taken delivery of 30 new 100mph Class 350 Desiro units, which are shared with Silverlink County for use on the West Coast Main Line between Euston and Northampton/Liverpool via Tamworth. The additions are part of a £100 million investment by the SRA to improve comfort, convenience, speed and accessibility.
The majority of Central Trains services are operated by diesel trains, as lines they operate are not electrified.
[edit] Current fleet
| Class | Image | Type | Top speed | Number | Routes operated | Built | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| mph | km/h | ||||||
| Class 150 "Sprinter" |  |
diesel multiple unit | 75 | 120 | 34 | Centro non-electrifield services | 1984-1987 |
| Class 153 Super Sprinter |  |
diesel multiple unit | 75 | 120 | 16 | Short services | 1987 - 1988 |
| Class 156 Super Sprinter |  |
diesel multiple unit | 75 | 120 | 12 | Stopping/Local services | 1987 - 1989 |
| Class 158 Express Sprinter |  |
diesel multiple unit | 90 | 145 | 17 | Long-distance services and some short distance | 1989 - 1992 |
| Class 170 Turbostar |  |
diesel multiple unit | 100 | 160 | 53 | Mostly Central Trains CityLink services and regional services | 1999 |
| Class 321 |  |
electric multiple units | 100 | 160 | 4 | Birmingham - Northampton | 1988 - 1991 |
| Class 323 |  |
electric multiple units | 100 | 160 | 26 | Centro electrifield services | 1992 - 1993 |
| Class 350 Desiro |  |
electric multiple units | 100 | 160 | 30 | Birmingham - Northampton Birmingham - Preston Birmingham - Liverpool |
2004 - 2005 |
[edit] The future
It was announced in October 2005 that the Central franchise will end in April 2007 (later extended to November 2007[6]), as part of a programme to reduce the number of franchises in the Midlands.[1] Central Trains will be split into three parts, each of which will be amalgamated with another franchise:
- West Midlands - this will include Silverlink County, and will take over Central's services West of Leicester and Nottingham.
- East Midlands - this will include Midland Mainline, and will take over Central's services on the Midland Main Line and East of Nottingham.
- Cross-Country - this will encompass Virgin Cross Country, and will be slightly expanded from its current size by taking over the Nottingham to Cardiff, the Birmingham to Stansted "Citylink" services, and the Hereford/Nottingham service.
The future of the problematic Liverpool to Norwich service now appears relatively secure: previous suggestions to split the service into two separate services between Liverpool and Nottingham, and Nottingham and Norwich, have been abandoned,[7] and the service will become part of the East Midlands franchise.
Recently Central Trains in the Centro area, which covers the West Midlands, Class 150s have been repainted in a livery similar to the Central Trains services. However, it is not known if the Class 323s shall also be painted in the same livery.
[edit] References
- ^ a b Rail franchising arrangements, October 2004. Department for Transport.
- ^ Train firm tackles fare dodging. BBC News.
- ^ Key Facts and Figures. Central Trains.
- ^ Our Fleet. Central Trains.
- ^
- ^ Central Trains franchise extended. BBC News.
- ^ ‘Nottingham split’ scrapped, but hourly Norwich – Liverpool service under threat. The Norfolk Railway Society.
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Regional Railways As part of British Rail |
Operator of Central franchise 1997-present |
Succeeded by N/A |
| Domestic: | Arriva Trains Wales - c2c - Central Trains1 - Chiltern Railways - First Capital Connect First Great Western - First ScotRail - Grand Central2 - GNER - Heathrow Connect Hull Trains - Island Line3 - Merseyrail - Midland Mainline1 - Northern Rail Northern Ireland Railways4 - 'one' - Silverlink1 - Southeastern - Southern South West Trains - TransPennine Express - Virgin Trains (VWC - VXC1) |
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| International: | Enterprise4 - Eurostar |
| Airport Link: | Gatwick Express - Heathrow Express - Stansted Express5 |
| Sleeper: | Caledonian Sleeper6 - Night Riviera7 |
| 1 Ends November 2007 - 2 Starts 20 May 2007 - 3 Operated by South West Trains 4 Operated on the Irish railway network - 5 Operated by 'one' - 6 Operated by First ScotRail 7 Operated by First Great Western |
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| Future passenger train operators and franchises in Great Britain | |
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| New Franchises: | Cross Country1 - East Midlands1 - InterCity East Coast - London Overground1 West Midlands1 |
| Proposed open-access operators: |
Glasgow Trains2 - Grand Union2 - Humber & City2 - Wrexham & Shropshire3 |
| 1 Starts November 2007 - 2 Proposed - 3 Awaiting Approval | |
