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Rail failings leave a 'Cinderella network'

Government plans to electrify train lines across the country has left the Westcountry with a "Cinderella network" after it emerged rolling stock that could have eased pressure in the region has been scrapped.

First Great Western, which operates services between Devon and Cornwall and London, has revealed it is in negotiations with the Department for Transport to lease more trains.

But the move to secure "desperately needed" rolling stock is only a result of the ^1 billion high-speed electrification programme, which represents a double blow for the far South West.

First Great Western had been bidding for about 100 new diesel trains that could have been deployed in Devon and Cornwall.

But plans to electrify 300 miles of the Great Western line rendered the trains "superfluous", and the construction of the diesels was halted.

While electrification has been welcomed, the far South West is unlikely to feel much benefit from the massive upgrade as the quicker, more fuel-efficient electric trains will stop well short of Devon and Cornwall.

This means the region will continue to rely on old-fashioned diesels.

The shelving of the order for diesel trains is bad news in the short-term for passengers in the region, and the Westcountry's shortcomings are compounded by the fact the region will miss out on the long-term benefits of the electrification programme when it is expected to be completed in 2017.

Tim Jones, chairman of the Devon and Cornwall Business Council, said: "The word electrification means something to an inward investor ^ they will think 'Is it worth investing in anything beyond the end of the electric line?' There is a sense that we have been left with a Cinderella rail network."

At a meeting this month, Julian Crow, First Great Western's general manager for the west of England, acknowledged the region was suffering a shortage of trains.

Negotiations with the Government had been "a bit of a moveable feast of late, largely because of the recent, very welcome, announcements about electrification of the Great Western main line".

He said it was talking to the Department for Transport over leasing "a relatively modest" number of additional trains to cope with congested rail services.

Mr Crow added: "There is a possibility of additional vehicles over and above those we are currently operating at some point during the latter part of next year.

"Primarily, it will be on services across Exeter because that is where the overcrowding and the growth is currently greatest. I am also anxious to see a modest amount of that capacity come down to the Exeter area where there is growth."

The comments were made to the South West Select Regional Committee which sat in Taunton earlier this month. Firms, passenger groups and business leaders gave evidence to regional MPs.

In its submission to the committee before the meeting, FGW stated the DfT negotiations were set against a backdrop of increasing the number of trains and capacity between Cardiff and Portsmouth.

If the Government department was to grant FGW more trains, it would free up rolling stock to be redeployed in "on other crowded routes in the Bristol and Exeter areas". When approached later for further details, FGW declined to comment.

When the Government announced in July that much of Britain would enjoy the new generation of faster and greener trains, it emerged Devon and Cornwall would have to make do with old diesel engines.

For slow-running services into Devon and Cornwall via Bristol, the Government is planning to introduce some "bi-mode trains" with a diesel generator vehicle at one end and an electric transformer vehicle at the other. Those trains will benefit from part of the route being electrified.

Mr Crow admitted FGW had been "actively pursuing 100" of the 200 diesel trains being built "for use in the Thames Valley and the West".

Why do we get such silly headlines as this in the media ?

Let's have a sensible discussion - not these utterly pointless "headline grabbing" headlines !

What happens when the current crop of HST's is life expired ?
 

Will we lose direct services from Cornwall to London ?

Will FGW, or whoever the TOC is, finally get rid of the night sleeper ?

As a franchise commitment, it's safe for now, especially as FGW has spent a reasonable amount of money over the last few years on dedicated locomotives and stock refurbishment. What happens when the mark III sleepers are finally deemed to be life-expired though I don't know - the same issues would also apply to the Caledonian sleeper services. Would it ultimately be economic to produce a small order of new rolling stock for this limited number of services, or would sleeper services finally be abandoned?

Extraction of H2 from Water (H2O) is quite an energy intensive process, so the atom economy doesn't yet make it amazingly sustainable at present.

That is it in one we are no longer world leaders, why not try and develope Hydrogen or even Nuclear remember sometime TV Sci/Fi bring out ideas before they time would this have caught on??????

Extraction of H2 from Water (H2O) is quite an energy intensive process, so the atom economy doesn't yet make it amazingly sustainable at present.

I want to see what they do with servern tunnel and 25kv....