Vivarail: new D-Trains available in 2018
VIVARAIL has confirmed that the company’s first two completed D-Trains will be available for delivery early next year.
Construction of the two trains is under way at the company’s workshop at Long Marston, where they will be made available as either two- or three-car units, and as either diesel or battery-powered variants or in a hybrid power configuration.
Offering the refurbished former London Underground D78 Stock vehicles in a choice of motive power will enable operators to run the D-Trains on either electrified or non-electrified routes, although it is not yet known where they are likely to enter service. They are currently being advertised for sale.
Speaking exclusively to RAIL, Vivarail Chairman Adrian Shooter said: “We have two trains which we’ve just started building, and which are now available to potential buyers. I’ve no idea what response we’ll get, but there are lots of people expressing an interest, so we’ll see what happens.”
RAIL reported in April that
Vivarail technicians have begun testing a single-car batterypowered vehicle in order to refine the technology and analyse performance data, while the company’s diesel electric multiple unit (DEMU) prototype D-Train (230001) was ready to resume main line testing following an on-board fire that occurred in December 2016 ( RAIL 818).
230001 has now been fully repaired and modified, and Shooter confirmed that main line testing was progressing as planned. This is required before the D-Train can be granted safety certification.
Once this certification is in place, 230001 is scheduled to carry its first members of the public on June 21-22, when it will provide a shuttle service for visitors to Rail Live between Honeybourne station and the exhibition site at Quinton Rail Technology Centre, Long Marston ( RAIL 825).
Shooter told RAIL that it would run as a three-car train, and be operated by West Coast Railways.