British Rail Class 222
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| British Rail Class 222 | |
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 East Midlands Trains five-car 222017 at Derby |
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| In service | 2004 - Present |
| Manufacturer | Bombardier |
| Family name | Voyager |
| Number built | 27 trainsets |
| Formation | 4, 5, or 7 cars per trainset |
| Operator | East Midlands Trains First Hull Trains |
| Specifications | |
| Maximum speed | 125mph |
| Engine | Cummins QSK19 |
| Braking system | Rheostatic |
| Safety systems | AWS, TPWS |
The British Rail Class 222 is a diesel-electric multiple unit high-speed train capable of 125 mph. Twenty-seven units have been built by Bombardier Transportation.
The Class 222 is similar to the Class 220 and 221 Voyager units used by CrossCountry and Virgin Trains but units have a radically different interior, after passenger complaints that the Voyagers were cramped. The 222s have more components fitted under the floors.
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[edit] Technical Details
Below are the Technical details for the Class 222 Meridian / Pioneer.[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. The units have a range of 1350 miles.
[edit] Formation
Class 222 units are currently running in the following formations.
East Midlands Trains: seven cars with 236 standard seats and 106 first-class seats.
- Coach A - Standard Class with driving cab and reservable space for four bikes
- Coach C - Standard Class
- Coach D - Standard Class
- Coach E - Standard Class with Shop/Buffet counter
- Coach F - First Class
- Coach G - First Class
- Coach J - First Class and driving cab
East Midlands Trains: four or five cars with 124 or 192 standard seats and 50 first-class seats.
- Coach A - Standard Class with driving cab and reservable space for four bikes
- Coach B - Standard Class (not present in a four car set)
- Coach C - Standard Class
- Coach D - Standard Class / First Class
- Coach G - First Class and driving cab
First Hull Trains: four cars
- Coach A - First Class and driving cab
- Coach B - First Class / Standard Class
- Coach C - Standard Class
- Coach D - Standard Class with driving cab and reservable space for bikes
[edit] Brakes
Class 222 units make use of rheostatic braking (the same as the class 220/1 Voyagers). This system brakes the train by using the motors of the train in reverse, to generate electricity which is then dissipated as heat through resistors situated on the roof of each coach. This slows the train and saves on brake shoe wear.
[edit] Couplers
The class 222 units have Dellner couplers fitted, as used on the Voyager and Super Voyager units, though these units cannot be coupled to work together in service because the electrical systems are incompatible. They can be coupled to push or pull each other though if a unit becomes faulty. The first-class end of the train is indicated by a yellow bar on the coupler.
[edit] Current operators
[edit] East Midlands Trains
East Midlands Trains, operated by Stagecoach, took over from Midland Mainline on 11 November 2007. All Midland Mainline Meridian units were transferred on this date. East Midlands Trains fleet comprises six seven-car sets and seventeen five-car sets.
The seven-car Meridians are used to supplement the East Midlands Trains HST fleet with services on the London to Nottingham line and on some services to and from Sheffield. The five-car Meridians are mainly used between London and Derby or Nottingham on semi-fast services, stopping at places such as Loughborough, Market Harborough and Wellingborough.
As part of the December 2008 timetable change the Meridians will be put on the hourly Sheffield off peak services. This is because the Meridians have faster acceleration than the HSTs and so will be able to reduce the Sheffield—London journey time by twelve minutes. All other Meridians will continue to operate on their current routes.[2]
East Midlands Trains have removed one coach from the eight-car Meridians except for 222007, which has been reduced to five-cars.[3] The surplus coaches were then be added to the remaining four-car Meridians to make 6 seven-car sets (222001 - 222006) and 17 five-car sets (222007 - 222023). This process started in March 2008 and only 222009/018/021 are left to have a coach inserted. The delay with the last 3 sets is due to the coaches needing to be converted from first to standard class.
Some of the units are named, as follows.
| Unit number | Name | Date named | Named by |
|---|---|---|---|
| 222004 | City Of Sheffield | 29 March 2007 | Lord Mayor of Sheffield, Councillor Jackie Drayton |
| 222005 | City Of Nottingham | 30 January 2007 | Lord Mayor of Nottingham, Councillor Des Wilson |
| 222006 | City Of Leicester | 7 March 2007 | Lord Mayor of Leicester, Councillor Paul Westley |
| 222007 | City Of Derby | 17 May 2007 | Mayor of Derby, Councillor John Ahern |
[edit] First Hull Trains
The train operating company First Hull Trains introduced Class 222 units, branded as 'Pioneers', to replace its Class 170 Turbostars in May 2005. The units reduced journey times between Hull and King's Cross by up to twenty minutes. The Pioneers have a different interior colour scheme and less first-class seating than the Meridians. Hull Trains was renamed First Hull Trains in June 2008.
First Hull Trains' fleet consists of four four-car Pioneers, each named after a 'modern-day pioneer' related to Hull.
| 222101 | Professor George Gray |
| 222102 | Professor Stuart Palmer |
| 222103 | Dr John Godber |
| 222104 | Sir Terry Farrell |
222103 is currently withdrawn from service following an accident during maintenance work, which wrote off two of the unit's four cars. It will take some time to replace these cars, leading Hull Trains to obtain alternative rolling stock. Initially, a preserved Class 86 locomotive and rake of Mark 3 coaches were used on a shuttle to Doncaster, where a Pioneer took passengers the rest of the way. The Class 86 and rolling stock was replaced by a pair of Class 180 Adelantes in April 2008.
East Midlands Trains have expressed interest in taking Hull Trains' fleet, should First Hull Trains decide to take on further Class 180s.
[edit] Previous operators
[edit] Midland Mainline
The English train operating company Midland Mainline used twenty-three Class 222 units ffrom June 2004, branded as 'Meridians'. These replaced a fleet of Class 170 Turbostars, which were transferred to Central Trains. The Meridians are 25 mph faster and have a better acceleration than the Turbostars and their interiors are better suited to long-distance travel.
Midland Mainline ordered the seven nine-car Meridians for an enhanced London St. Pancras to Leeds service, but after the trains had been ordered, the Strategic Rail Authority decided not to allow them to run the service. The nine-car Meridians were instead used on Nottingham to London and some Sheffield to London services.
When the units were ordered Midland Mainline oversetimated the number of first class customers who would use these Meridians and the four-car Meridians had less standard-class seating than the three-car Turbostars they replaced. Coach D subsequently had a section of first-class seating declassified for standard-class passengers.
Initially the fleet consisted of seven nine-car units and sixteen four-car units but, at the end of 2006 Midland Mainline removed a carriage from the each of the nine-car sets and extended seven of the four-car sets. This fleet reconfiguration now better suits demand.
The entire fleet is now with East Midlands Trains.
[edit] Class 222 in Ireland
In 2005, HSBC Rail took delivery of the seven 9-car trains planned for use by Midland Mainline on their London-Leeds service. However, when the Strategic Rail Authority prevented MML from undertaking this service, the trains were left idle. HSBC Rail made contact with both Northern Ireland Railways and Iarnród Éireann, with a view to possibly leasing these trains.[4] NIR considered using the trains on the Belfast to Dublin line as one of a number of options, which included the purchase of additional 22000 Class railcars or cascaded coaching stock. In the event, the trains entered service with MML providing the fast services from London to Nottingham. The trains would have required significant modification to be used by NIR, which would have included reducing each train from nine to eight cars (the maximum length of stations on the Belfast-Dublin line), and converting them from standard gauge to 1600 mm gauge (5ft 3 inches).
[edit] Incidents
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- See also: Hull Trains#Prolonged absence of 222103
In January 2007 eight jack supports failed leading to unit 222103 Dr John Godber of Hull Trains falling to the floor of Crofton Works. On inspection at Derby, two vehicles of the unit were written off, with replacements on order from Bombardier.
A Hull Trains Pioneer service from Hull to London Kings Cross caught fire whilst travelling through Stevenage in Hertfordshire at approximately 19:20 BST on Friday 10 August 2007. The fire reported to take 30 minutes to extinguish and no injuries were reported, however the damage to the unit (number 222102) was not serious and it was back in service within two days.
[edit] Fleet details
| Class | Operator | No. Built | Year Built | Cars per Set | Unit nos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Class 222/0 | East Midlands Trains | 23 | 2003 | 7 | 222001 - 222006 |
| 5 | 222007 - 222008 222010 - 222017 222019 - 222020 222022 - 222023 |
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| 4 | 222009 222018 222021 |
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| Class 222/1 | Hull Trains | 4 | 2004 | 4 | 222101 - 222104 |
[edit] Cycle storage problems
The trains have been criticised for providing less space for cycle carriage due to the lack of a guard's van, coinciding with increased demand for cycle space by passengers. A Meridian has space for only 2 bicycles in the cycle locker compared to storage for up to 6 cycles provided in the older high speed trains they replaced.
[edit] External links
- East Midlands Trains web site
- First Hull Trains web site
- Bombardier Website
- Railfaneurope.net Class 222 picture gallery
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[edit] References
- ^ Class 222 data. The Railway Centre (2 June 2008).
- ^ East Midlands Trains FAQ Page
- ^ Changes to our trains. East Midlands Trains (6 June 2008).
- ^ IRRS Journal 157
