BRITISH RAIL CLASS 220

The 'Class 220 ''Voyager''' is a class of diesel-electric high-speed multiple-unit trains built by Bombardier Transportation for the British train operating company Virgin CrossCountry. They are the mainstay of the long-distance trains in Britain that do not terminate in London (although they are also used for some services between Holyhead and London Euston). They are air-conditioned throughout, with powered doors and a top speed of 125 mph. They were introduced to replace the thirty-year-old High Speed Train and Class 47 fleets. Class 220 Voyagers were built from 2001-2003 and the first Voyager entered service on 5th June 2001.

Contents

Details

Engine

Formation

Brakes

Couplers

Similar Units

Operators

Virgin Trains

CrossCountry

Voyager Names

Problems

Fleet Details

References

See also

External links

Details

Engine

All coaches are equipped with a Cummins QSK19 diesel engine of 560kW (750hp) at 1800rpm. This powers a generator which supplies current to motors driving two axles per coach. 2000 km (1200 miles) can be travelled between refuellings.

Formation

There are 34 Class 220 trains; numbered 220001 to 220034. They provide 26 seats in first class and 160 in standard. All vehicles are air-conditioned and fitted with at-seat audio entertainment systems and power sockets for laptop computers and mobile phone charging.
The formation of a four car Class 220 Voyager is as follows:

★ Coach A - First Class and driving cab

★ Coach C - Standard Class

★ Coach D - Standard Class with Shop/Buffet counter

★ Coach F - Standard Class (Quiet Zone) with driving cab and reservable space for four bikes
The first class coach has a yellow rectangle on its front coupler to aid identification as a train approaches a station, as the nature of the Cross-Country network means that trains often get turned around. All Voyagers are maintained at the Central Rivers depot near Burton-on-Trent.
The train interiors do provide toilets for handicaped people and storage facilities for bicycles.

Brakes

Voyagers make use of Rheostatic brakes. This system, uncommon in the UK up until recently, brakes the train by using the motors of the train in reverse to generate electricity which is then dissipated as heat through resistors situated on the roof of each coach. This slows the train and saves on brake shoe wear. However, these systems have caused problems: the resistors are known to reach temperatures of up to 500° C. A small piece of wood from a tree may become lodged in these grids, which will then start a fire on the roof of the train. This resulted in the train being evacuated at Cheltenham Spa

Couplers

The Voyagers have Dellner couplers fitted which are the same type of couplers as the Class 390 'Pendolino' electric units used by Virgin's West Coast trains, and they can be coupled together in the event of a failure, although as the electrical systems are not compatible they are not coupled in normal service. They can also be 'dragged' by Virgin's Thunderbirds, humorously named after the eponymous TV series, which are Class 57/3 "Ronnies".

Similar Units

The principal differences between the Voyager and otherwise very similar Super Voyager fleet are that the Super Voyager usually consists of five carriages rather than the Voyager's four, and like the Pendolino can tilt when going around curves in order to allow higher speeds. This means that Super Voyager units have significantly more complex bogies than do Voyagers. To aid identification by staff, the two types now have different Virgin 'shield' logos on the nose of the train: the Class 221 noses have a red background to the shields, and the Class 220 noses a silver background
Both models are powered by Cummins QSK19 engines, with each carriage featuring its own engine.
Midland Mainline's new Meridian trains are closely related to the Voyager fleet, although they have a revised front and are, according to Bombardier Transportation, '80% new train'.

Operators

Virgin Trains

Virgin Trains have been the sole operator of all Voyager trains since they were introduced in 2001. But this will change when the New Cross Country rail franchise begins on the 11th November 2007. When the new franchise all 34 Voyager trains passed on to new operator of the Cross Country franchise, CrossCountry, operated by Arriva Trains.

CrossCountry

As the winner of the new Cross Country franchise CrossCountry will inherit all 34 Voyagers from Virgin Cross-Country. CrossCountry have the following plans regarding the Voyager trains^[1].

★ Introduce longer Voyager trains on other key services

★ Reconfigure the Voyager and fleet internally to give more seats and more luggage space (this could involve removing the on-board shop and a toilet).

Voyager Names

The Class 220 Voyagers are named after places which they serve, they have the following names:

220 001	Somerset Voyager	220 018	Dorset Voyager
220 002	Forth Voyager	220 019	Mersey Voyager
220 003	Solent Voyager	220 020	Wessex Voyager
220 004	Cumbrian Voyager	220 021	Staffordshire Voyager
220 005	Guildford Voyager	220 022	Brighton Voyager
220 006	Clyde Voyager	220 023	Mancunian Voyager
220 007	Thames Voyager	220 024	Sheffield Voyager
220 008	Welsh Dragon	220 025	Severn Voyager
220 009	Gatwick Voyager	220 026	Stagecoach Voyager
220 010	Ribble Voyager	220 027	Avon Voyager
220 011	Tyne Voyager	220 028	Black Country Voyager
220 012	Lanarkshire Voyager	220 029	Cornish Voyager
220 013	South Wales Voyager	220 030	Devon Voyager
220 014	South Yorkshire Voyager	220 031	Tay Voyager
220 015	Solway Voyager	220 032	Grampian Voyager
220 016	Midland Voyager	220 033	Fife Voyager
220 017	Bombardier Voyager	220 034	Yorkshire Voyager

Problems

Voyagers are about half the length of their predecessors (4 or 5 cars compared to 7 previously), proponents of the units counter by pointing to the increased frequencies at which the trains operate. Therefore overall capacity is said to be at least equal to, or in some cases greater than, the trains they replaced. However, some critics have noted that in areas where frequencies have not increased (such as at the extremes of the network), or in areas where trains carry large amounts of commuter or holiday traffic, Voyagers do sometimes struggle to cope with these loadings.
The overhead compartments feature only limited space allowing for relatively small luggage storage. This has been compensated by generous storage bins.
Other problems have centred on the toilets, which because of the sealed air conditioning and ventilation system — toilet odours can permeate throughout the train. The problem has also afflicted the Pendolino fleet, and although Virgin have experimented with various fixes, a definitive cure to the problem has yet to be found.
Some point out that in some sections of the Voyager the units suffer from increased noise and vibration when compared to the non-powered Mark 2 and Mark 3 coaching stock they replaced, due to the underfloor diesel engines. However, some say they are quieter than the British Rail Mark 2 coaches they replaced, which make considerable noise when travelling at speed.. However, any diesel driven coach in any trainset operated in Britain suffers from vibration and noise. Some say that the Voyagers do have less noise than former trainsets operated by Northern or First.
The electric interior doors close on a timer and do not have movement sensors to detect if a passenger happens to be walking through them or not. This often results on doors closing on passengers, unless the 'open' button is pressed again quickly.
Mobile phone reception on board Voyagers is often poor, or more frequently non existent. However Virgin do now state that they are working with Orange to solve this problem and reception has improved.
Christopher Garnett, former Chief Exectutive of rival operator Great North Eastern Railway considered them "cheap and nasty"^[2].

Fleet Details

Class	Operator	No. Built	Year Built	Cars per Set	Unit nos.
'Class 220'	Virgin Trains	34	2002	4	220001 - 220034

References

1. CrossCountry website franchise plans
2. GNER boss call's Virgin trains `cheap and nasty'

See also

★ Virgin Trains

★ Class 221 Super Voyager

★ Class 222 Meridian/Pioneer

★ Class 390 Pendolino

External links

★ Virgin Trains web site

★ Voyager tour and gallery (from Virgin Trains)

★ Virgin Trains Voyager Seat Plans from V-Flyer, customer created site.

★ Voyager and Super Voyager official web sites (from Bombardier)