On Jan 26, 3:45*pm, Graeme Wall wrote:

Suggesting now, today, that Bransksome site would have been better is
using information that did exist in c.2001 or whenever it was that
Siemens got the SWT contract, no-one had any plans to removes 442s at
that time (this came into being with the solutions to BML RUS and the
SWT re-franchise).

I thought they were always planned to go on the introduction of the 444s.


NO WAY !!!

It was 458s that were to have gone.

There was no intention to eliminate 442s by Desiros or Coradias or
anything else by thats sort of cascade.

The SWT re-franchise was a hard bottom line accounting fight against
other bidders and all about numbers of seats and numbers of cars and
leasing charges. Quantity of cars is exactyl the same - 120 458 cars
120 442 cars but 30 458s v. 30 442s is more felxibale, and the lease
charge for a 458 was SIGNIFICANTLY less than a 442 - this is all been
gone through in uk.railway at the time 442s were stopped, and is also
in my 442 article in Todays Railways UK at the time. On top of that,
the fleets offer 8370 seats in 458s but 8208 seats in 442s** only +1%
but thats the sort of thing D(a)fT loves.

Release of the 442s from the SWD to CD allowed the solution BML/SN/
GEx solution.++

The point is, BOMO was remaining as 442 depot at the time Siemens
needed a site.

I also dont understand what
Bournemouth would increase the distance of any special moves by over
But most services start/end in that direction

Branksome is ~30 miles further away from London than Northam. Special
moves which already exist to swap over units between London and
Northam would have 60 train miles per return trip extra.

Also don't forget there are several daily booked moves between Northam
and the Portsmouth direct line for normal traffic: those would also
have to run the extra distance, all takes extra crews, extra mileage,
extra power, bigger new Forest traction supply reinforcement and so on
and on.


** some pedant will be along to argue about exact seat numbers but
they'll only alter thing by +/-1-2 seats per unit which does not
impact the argument.



++ given the current idea of morphing 458 + 460 into one fleet I still
reckon SWD keeping 442s and CD getting 458s mixed with 460s would have
been better.

--
Nick