New Railway Parcels Service

[whole diary]

[stuving]

More info here: https://orion.railopsgroup.co.uk/

Is Orion (a subsidiary of Rail Operations Group) yet another separate contender - number four?

[SandTEngineer]

More info here: https://orion.railopsgroup.co.uk/

Is Orion (a subsidiary of Rail Operations Group) yet another separate contender - number four?

Yes, I believe so.

[stuving]

Not exactly parcels, but ...

You may have seen the news that a TGV^▸ (Train a Grande Vitesse) was used today to transport 20 COVID-19 patients from Strasbourg to other places where hospitals still have ICU capacity (Le Mans, Angers, Nantes, La-Roche-sur-Yon). While described as a "first in Europe", obviously it was nothing of the kind - certainly if you look back as far as WW1; probably much more recently. In addition,SNCF^▸ (Societe Nationale des Chemins de fer Francais - French National Railways) have always run stripped-out carriages for those on stretchers and other wheeled sickbeds to Lourdes, and reportedly now have a TGV to do likewise.

This was in any case more of an improvisation that an adaptation. Four stretchers were lodged across the backs of four facing second-class seats in a lower saloon, and tied down with straps. Oxygen bottles and all the support machinery, including ventilators, were put on the floor or seats underneath.  The advantage compared to road or helicopter ambulances is mainly extra space for staff and ease of access to the patient - the only comparable method is the French army's medevac aircraft, an A330 with four IC^▸ (Inter City) beds in it, which was used for similar transfers a few days ago.

The value of the operation was related to way the outbreak was been so heavily concentrated in Alsace and nearby, with very few in the west so far. But everyone expects that to change quite soon, of course. Here, while it's not yet clear, it looks as if London will reach ICU saturation first.

[nickswift99]

The NRM^» (National Railway Museum, at York and Shildon - about) has an interesting article about the last British ambulance train which ran until 1994. https://blog.railwaymuseum.org.uk/commander-of-last-british-ambulance-train-speaks-at-nrm-railways-and-warfare-conference/

[Surrey 455]

I came across this on Twitter yesterday from GB^▸ (Great Britain) Railfreight

We've successfully trialled using former commuter trains for the express delivery of parcels Package

The trial showed how the service could play a role in helping with the logistical challenge of delivering vital supplies to UK^▸ (United Kingdom) hospitals.

The accompanying photos aren't very exciting, they show one of those high sided cages in a former London Midland train with the seats still in place!

[stuving]

Orion have had a converted train doing the rounds to have its picture took for several months. It looks very ... blue. From Orion's pages on the ROG site:

The First of Many
18 November 2020

Well here it is...the first of many.

Orion leading the way with specially converted multiple units for the High-Speed Logistics sector.

Here's 319373 on show in the Princess Royal Distribution Centre in north London.

This comes from Modern Railways back in August:

The train is the first of an initial fleet of three units that Orion, a sister company of empty stock mover Rail Operations Group, is planning to introduce into service early next year. The other two units are being converted into parcels Class 769s, with the addition of diesel engines at the Brush plant in Loughborough.

The plan is that the units will operate as eight-car trains shuttling between the port at London Gateway and Liverpool Street station in central London. The ‘319’ will run in tandem with a Class 769 sister unit, with the latter acting as a tractor unit on the unelectrified Gateway branch.

At Liverpool Street, the trains will use platforms 9 and 10, which have road access, with electric bikes and electric vans shuttling the parcels to city centre destinations to add to the operation’s green credentials

Oh dear.

[IndustryInsider]

An update on this interesting idea:

https://www.railjournal.com/freight/rail-operations-uk-to-launch-orion-logistics-service-in-april/

[paul7575]

An update on this interesting idea:

https://www.railjournal.com/freight/rail-operations-uk-to-launch-orion-logistics-service-in-april/

Much confused reporting there, I reckon “London to Liverpool” seems to be the originally reported London Gateway (shipping terminal) to Liverpool Street, reading between the lines.  Either the journalist has misinterpreted, or it’s been badly edited...

Paul

[grahame]

On show yesterday at Euston Station - see Network Rail Press Release

Passenger trains converted to deliver parcels to city centres

High-speed parcel deliveries will soon be made by rail to satisfy a growing demand for faster freight.

Network Rail and distribution firm Orion have today (Wednesday 7 July) showed how the concept works at Euston station.

Former passenger trains are being converted to take goods directly into city centre stations.

As well as online retail, the flexible freight operation could transport other light goods needed in super-fast time by businesses.

[stuving]

News of the Varamis proposed service appeared nearly three years ago, but it has hardly been heard of since. Well, it seems it started full operation last week! And the trains it is using are the ones Eversholt converted to be operated by "Swift Express". So maybe that was a pretend customer all along, while they were talking to more than one contender to do it. From Global Railway Review:

Network Rail and Varamis Rail have teamed up to launch a new zero carbon freight service which will run between Scotland and the Midlands.

Network Rail and Varamis Rail, the UK^▸ (United Kingdom)’s newest train operator, have worked together to launch an innovative, zero carbon freight service.  The service will run between Scotland and the Midlands, Monday to Friday. Targeted at express parcels and third-party delivery companies, it will primarily deal with next day delivery of consumer goods.

Industry partners, Eversholt Rail, have converted a number of fully electric 4-car trains formerly used in passenger service to enable them to carry freight while Network Rail provided the necessary operating licenses, contracts, and train paths for the service to operate. This followed trial operations of the service, which commenced in October 2022, to test the robustness and practicality of the service, and enabled logistics companies to test the service.
...
The new service, which launched on the 9 January 2023, is fully electric, supporting Network Rail and the rest of the rail industry as an environmentally friendly alternative to road haulage. It gives access to urban rail stations located within the heart of city centres and is expected to benefit the rail industry in the future as an example of best practice.

More on the trains from Railway technology last October.

Eversholt Rail has pledged for the conversion of four further Class 321 Swift Express Freight trains.

Expected to be completed by the end of this year, the work will be conducted by Gemini and Wolverton.

Eversholt Rail will negotiate with multiple operators regarding these trains and sign lease agreements in the coming months.

[grahame]

From The Evening Standard

The UK^▸ (United Kingdom)’s first electric-only rail freight operator has started moving parcels between Scotland and the Midlands.

Varamis Rail is using fully electric former passenger trains converted to carry freight in response to the growing demand for next-day deliveries of goods bought online.

The majority of freight trains on Britain’s railways are still powered by diesel, with an average speed of around 24mph.

Varamis Rail said its trains can reach 100mph, with journeys between Mossend freight terminal, near Glasgow, and Birmingham International scheduled to take just under five hours.

Right to highlight the majority of freight still being diesel hauled. 

Comparing the average speed of a diesel train with the top speed of an electric is misleading. And comparing the speed of a specialist lightweight operation with general freight including quarry stone is also naughty.