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INFORMED SOURCES August 2007

All change in West Midlands new trains

Bombardier builds a lighter DMU and Porterbook give angel a poke in the eye

What a change, not only to have a new-train orders table in the column again, but to have to update it regularly. As you can see the table is in two parts. The top section tracks the ‘1,000 vehicles' which we are promised in the High Level Output Specification. The bottom half lists current orders outwith the Secretary of State's 1000.

Of course 1,000 is a convenient round number and there are reports that the actual new build in the period covered by the HLOS (2009-2014) could be somewhat larger. On the other hand I wouldn't bank on either the Pendolino lengthening or the pre-series build of the Intercity Express Project (IEP).

In the provisional allocations within the 1000, I had Regional down for 240 vehicles and the new West Midlands franchise includes 217 Turbostars and Desiros. Add in say, 22 additional cars for the Trans Pennine Class 185 fleet and that is Regional's lot.

Table 1

New train orders – actual and prospective

West Midlands

DfT Rail's announcement of the new trains for West Midlands caused a stir in various parts of the industry. Particularly since the builders were named before contracts had been placed, let alone the requirements being the subject of an OJEU Notice.

Asked how they justified procurement of the next generation Bombardier Turbostar, a major redesign which justified the new designation Class 172, without seeking tenders, Govia claimed that none of the other manufacturers approached could meet the delivery schedule. One potential builder muttered that in prolonged discussions with Govia, delivery had not been mentioned as an issue.

Competition

Demonstrating that there is indeed a competitive leasing market for new trains, Porterbrook is to finance both orders. The ROSCO has reaped the benefit of being the early-adopter of the Turbostar, at a time when DMUs were still seen as a niche market, and subsequently funded all but a handful of the Class 170s.

To date, Angel has enjoyed total exclusivity with the Siemens Desiro fleets. Adding Desiro EMUs to its portfolio is a major coup for Porterbrook and a blow for Angel.

Porterbrook has been up for sale for some time. These orders could suggest that owner Banco Santander is planning for the long-term or fattening up Porterbrook for an early sale.

DfT Rail's announcement said that the new trains will replace existing MOLA fleet rolling stock which will be ‘freed for use in other parts of the country'. This suggest that somewhere within DfT Rail there is a cascade for the MOLA fleets.

Class 150 DMUs displaced by the Class 172s could replace Pacers. The Class Golden Spanner winning Class 321 fleet looks like being dispersed.