| British Rail Class 221 SuperVoyager | |
|---|---|
CrossCountry 221130 departs Bristol Temple Meads |
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The interior of Standard Class aboard a Cross Country Bombardier Class 221 Super Voyager |
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| In service | 2002– |
| Manufacturer | Bombardier Transportation |
| Family name | Voyager |
| Constructed | 2001–2002 |
| Number built | 44 trainsets |
| Number in service | 44 trainsets |
| Formation | 4 or 5 cars per trainset |
| Fleet numbers | 221101–221144 |
| Capacity | 26 first class, 162 or 224 standard class per trainset |
| Operator | CrossCountry Virgin Trains |
| Specifications | |
| Car body construction | Steel |
| Car length | 23.85 m (78 ft 3 in) driving end cars 22.82 m (74 ft 10 in) other cars |
| Width | 2.73 m (8 ft 11 in) |
| Doors | Swing plug at vehicle ends |
| Articulated sections | Flexible diaphragm within unit only |
| Maximum speed | 125 mph (200 km/h) |
| Weight | 227 t (223 long tons; 250 short tons) or 282.8 t (278.3 long tons; 311.7 short tons) per trainset |
| Traction system | DEMU |
| Engine(s) | Cummins QSK19 of 560 kW (750 hp) at 1800rpm[1] |
| Power output | 560 kW (750 hp) per car |
| UIC classification | 1A'A1'+1A'A1'+...+1A'A1'[2][3] |
| Braking system(s) | Rheostatic and electro-pneumatic |
| Safety system(s) | AWS, TPWS, TASS, |
| Coupling system | Dellner[4] |
The Class 221 Super Voyager is a class of British diesel-electric multiple-unit express trains built by Bombardier Transportation between 2001 and 2002, entering service on 12 April 2002.
The Class 221 are similar to the Class 220 Voyager units, but they were built with a tilting mechanism enabling up to six degrees of tilt to allow higher speeds on curved tracks. They have a maximum speed of 125 mph (200 km/h).
Currently these trains are divided between two operators, Virgin Trains (21 sets) and Arriva CrossCountry (23 sets). The sets operated by CrossCountry have had their tilting equipment disabled.
Contents |
The Class 221s were produced as 5- or 4-coach sets. Each coach is equipped with a Cummins QSK19 diesel engine producing 560 kW (750 hp) at 1,800 rpm,[5] driving an electrical generator which powers two motors, each driving one (inner) axle per bogie via a cardan shaft and final drive.[3] 1,200 miles (1,900 km) can be travelled between refuellings. The coach bodies, the engines and most of the equipment of the Class 221s are the same as the Class 220s, but the bogies are very different: the Class 220 Voyager B5000 bogies have inside bearings which expose the whole of the wheel faces, while the Class 221 SuperVoyager Y36 bogies have a more traditional outside-framed bogie. Unlike the Class 220s, the Class 221s were built with an hydraulic-actuated tilting system to run at high speed around bends, though this has now been removed on the 23 sets operated by CrossCountry.
Each coach weighs between 55 and 57 tonnes, with a total train weight of 281.9 tonnes for a 5-car set (227 tonnes for a 4-car set). The trains have air-operated (pneumatic) and rheostatic brakes, with an emergency stopping distance of 350m at 60 mph (97 km/h).[5]
All Class 221 units are maintained at the dedicated Central Rivers TMD near Burton-on-Trent.
There are 44 Class 221 trains, numbered 221 101 to 221 144; the first forty are five-car trains originally operated by Virgin Cross Country, and the remaining four were four-car sets, originally intended for Virgin West Coast North Wales services.
In November 2010, Virgin Trains reformed its three four-car sets into two five-car sets and a residual spare two-car set by inserting the two intermediate (non-driving) cars from 221144 into 221142 and 221143, giving 20 five-car sets (and two spare driving cars). This was aimed at providing more flexibility and consistency in operating Birmingham-Scotland and London-North Wales services.[6]
All vehicles are air-conditioned and fitted with at-seat audio entertainment systems and power sockets for laptop computers and mobile-phone charging. First-class accommodation has 2+1 seating, standard class 2+2 seating. Virgin Trains' units are fitted with CCTV.
The trains have been criticised for providing insufficient space for luggage and bicycles.[7] Also, because the units are designed to tilt, the carriages have a tapered profile that narrows towards roof level, resulting in a less spacious interior than the conventional carriages they replaced.
The formation and capacity of each unit depends on the operator.
| Operator | Cars per set | First Class Seats | Standard Class Seats | Bicycle storage | Formation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virgin West Coast | 5 | 26 (84)* | 236 (178)* | 4 | Coach A Quiet Zone, Coach D - Standard/First Dual Use Coach with Shop, Coach E First Class.[8] |
| CrossCountry | 26 | 252 | 3 | Coach A First Class, Coach F Quiet Zone, at seat catering service.[9] | |
| CrossCountry | 4 | 26 | 182 | 3 | Coach A First Class, Coach F Quiet Zone, at seat catering service.[9] |
'*' The number of seats on Virgin sets depends on the use of coach D; if used on North Wales services it provides extra first-class seats, on Anglo-Scottish services coach D is standard-class accommodation.
On their introduction in 2002, Virgin Trains was the operator of all Class 221s, which it used on Cross Country and West Coast Main Line services as well as on the North Wales coast line.
On 11 November 2007 CrossCountry obtained the Cross Country Route rail franchise; the trains were shared in a common pool between the two companies until December 2007, when 221 114 to 221 141 were transferred to CrossCountry, the remainder (221 101 to 221 113, 221 142 to 221 144) staying with Virgin West Coast. Five units, 221 114 to 221 118, were transferred back to Virgin Trains in December 2008.
CrossCountry's Class 221 trains are used alongside Class 220 units and HSTs on the routes inherited from Virgin Trains. Since these routes are not cleared for tilting operation, the company in 2008 first locked the tilting equipment out of use and shortly afterwards isolated it altogether, replacing the hydraulic rams with fixed tie-bars. This change was made to improve reliability and reduce maintenance costs.[10]
Virgin Trains uses the Class 221 units primarily from Birmingham New Street to Scotland (an example of the use of diesel trains entirely "under the wires") and from London Euston to Chester and North Wales.
The trains to and from Scotland operate as single units and alternate between Glasgow Central and Edinburgh Waverley (in turn alternating with TransPennine Express trains to and from Manchester Airport). When longer trains are needed for some of these services during the summer, a Pendolino will run through from and to London Euston, and the Super Voyager then fills in for it on the London to West Midlands route.
The trains on the North Wales route sometimes work in pairs between London Euston and Chester and terminate variously at Chester, Holyhead, Bangor or Wrexham.
Units have been stopped due to waves breaking over the sea wall at Dawlish in storm conditions, inundating the resistor banks and causing the control software to shut down the whole train.[11] This problem was fixed by a software upgrade to the control software.[12]
On 8 December 2005, 221 125 suffered an exhaust fire at Starcross. Other members of the Voyager class suffered similar fires in the 2005-2006 period due to an incorrectly performed engine overhaul.[13]
On 25 September 2006, 221 136 collided with a car on the track at Moor Lane, Copmanthorpe, North Yorkshire. The 14:25 Plymouth to Edinburgh was decelerating on its approach to York station at 9pm when it collided with the car, which had crashed through a fence on to the line. Despite being derailed in the 100 mph crash, the train remained upright. Nobody on board was injured.[14]
Some of the Virgin-operated Class 221 SuperVoyagers were named after famous voyagers, some fictional and some real, as follows:
The Class 220s and 221s transferred to CrossCountry in November 2007 have had their names removed.
'†' Refers to SuperVoyagers transferred to CrossCountry. '*' Refers to units built as 4-coach units originally intended for Virgin West Coast Services.
| Class | Operator | Number of Trains | Built | Cars per Set | Unit numbers. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Class 221 | Virgin Trains | 21 | 2001–2002 | 5 | 221101 - 221118
221142 - 221143 |
| 2 | 221144 | ||||
| CrossCountry | 23 | 5 | 221119 - 221140 | ||
| 4 | 221141 |
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