British Rail Class 221
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| British Rail Class 221 "Super Voyager" | |
|---|---|
 Virgin Trains Class 221 "Super Voyager" near Bristol Parkway - 3rd May 2006 |
|
|
|
|
| In service | 2002 - Present |
| Manufacturer | Bombardier |
| Family name | Voyager |
| Number built | 44 trainsets |
| Formation | 4 or 5 cars per trainset |
| Operator | CrossCountry Virgin Trains |
| Specifications | |
| Maximum speed | 125mph/200km/h |
| Engine | Cummins QSK19 |
| Braking system | Rheostatic |
| Safety systems | AWS, TPWS |
The Class 221 Super Voyager is a train currently used by Virgin Trains and CrossCountry in the United Kingdom. They were built by Bombardier Transportation between 2001 - 2003 for the British train operating companies Virgin CrossCountry and Virgin West Coast. The first Super Voyager entered traffic between Birmingham and Brighton on the 12th April 2002. The Class 221 Super Voyagers are similar to the Class 220 Voyager units, but they are built with a tilting mechanism offering up to six degrees of tilt to allow faster speeds on curved tracks. They have a maximum speed of 125mph/200km/h, as is the case with all Bombardier Class 22X units.
Contents |
[edit] Technical Details
The coach bodies, the engines and most of the equipment of the two Voyager train types are the same, but the bogies are very different; the Class 220 bogies have inside bearings which expose the whole of the wheel faces, whilst the Class 221 bogies have a more traditional-looking outside-framed bogie. A five car set provides 26 seats in first class and 224 in standard. A four car set provides 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. Below are the Technical details for the Class 221 Super Voyager.[1]
[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. 1200 miles can be travelled between refuellings.
[edit] Formation
There are 44 Class 221 trains, numbered 221101 to 221144. 221101 to 221140 are five car trains built for Virgin Cross Country. 221141 to 221144 are four-car sets which were intended for use by Virgin West Coast on the London - North Wales service. However, it has not worked out like this, and the North Wales trains are five-car sets from the Cross-Country batch, with the four car trains being used on Cross Country workings.
The formation of a five car Class 221 Super Voyager is as follows:
- Coach A - First Class and driving cab
- Coach B - Standard Class
- 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
A four car Class 221 Super Voyager will be missing Coach B.
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.
For more general information on the Voyager trains see British Rail Class 220
[edit] Operators
[edit] Virgin Trains
Virgin Trains were the sole operator of all Super Voyager trains since they were introduced in 2002. This changed when the New Cross Country rail franchise began on the 11th November 2007. Initially the Super Voyagers were shared in a common pool between Virgin Trains and CrossCountry until December 2007 when 221114 - 221141 were transferred to CrossCountry (see below). The rest 221101 - 221113 and 221142 - 221144 will remain with Virgin Trains on Virgin West Coast. Five Super Voyagers 221114 - 221118 will be transferred back to Virgin Trains in December 2008.
Virgin Trains have debranded some of the Super Voyagers that were transferred to CrossCountry in November. All Virgin Trains branding was removed or covered, and the Virgin Trains nose end badges were to be removed, as well as their name plates.
Today, Virgin Trains use the Class 221 primarily on their services to Holyhead as the line between Crewe and the Welsh harbour town is not electrified, although the occasional Class 57 dragged Pendolino from London Euston is used along the line.
Virgin Trains are currently prepairing to modify the layouts of super voyagers ready for VHF in december. Currently they are moving COACH D next to COACH A to create a First Plus coach on busier services.
From December 2008 Voyager trains will be running hourly between chester and London Euston.
[edit] CrossCountry
As the winner of the new Cross Country franchise CrossCountry has inherited Super Voyagers 221113 - 221141 from Virgin Cross-Country (assuming the common sharing period is complete) with the remaining staying with Virgin Trains on Virgin West Coast (see above). CrossCountry have the following plans regarding the Voyager trains[2].
- Introduce longer Voyager trains on other key services
- Reconfigure the Voyager and fleet internally to give more seats and more luggage space (this will involve removing the on-board shop and maybe a toilet). CrossCountry have been told they cannot remove the shop and single toilet. As this is where they will need to do more structural work.
[edit] Super Voyager Names
Some of the Class 221 Super Voyagers are named after ‘famous Voyagers’,some fictional and some real, as follows:
(*) Four-car unit, originally intended for Virgin West Coast's North Wales services.
(†) Denamed when transferred to CrossCountry.
[edit] Problems
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. The new Arriva Cross Country franchise have stated ( 17th January 2008 ) that following the summer 2008 Voyager refurbishment the existing 4 cycle spaces will be reduced to 2 to allow for a docking station for the trolley service to be added.
[edit] Fleet Details
| Class | Operator | Number of Trains | Built | Cars per Set | Unit nos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Class 221 | Virgin Trains | 16 | 2002 | 5 | 221101 - 221113 |
| 4 | 221142 - 221144 | ||||
| Class 221 | CrossCountry | 28 | 2002 | 5 | 221114 - 221140 |
| 4 | 221141 |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Class 220 data. The Railway Centre (2 June 2008).
- ^ CrossCountry website franchise plans
[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 221 pictures
- Testing the class 221's
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
