More Class 387s as GWR steps up electrics to Didcot

GREAT Western Railway’s fleet of four-car Class 387 electric trains will increase to 88 vehicles (22 electric multiple units) in early July, as the operator implements the latest phase of its suburban improvements by boosting Paddington-Maidenhead services.

Electric services to Maidenhead started in May with a fleet of 56 EMU vehicles. This is set to increase to 180 (45 EMUs) from December, in preparation for January 3’s introduction of electric trains through Reading to Didcot.

Over the same period, GWR will reduce its fleet of Turbo diesel units from 142 vehicles last May to 97 in December, while its total fleet available for Thames Valley services rises from 198 vehicles to 277.

GWR Depot Engineering Manager Rishi Ravindram revealed the figures to an electrification conference organised by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in London on June 6.

He added that in surveys conducted before the recent extension to Maidenhead, passengers were recording higher levels of satisfaction with the new trains compared with the diesel units that date from the 1990s.

Overall train satisfaction climbed 7%, and overall journey satisfaction by 5%. ‘Ease of getting on and off’ scored 72% satisfaction on Turbos and 81% on Class 387s, and ‘smoothness of the ride’ increased from 64% to 70% satisfied, he said.

GWR maintains its Class 387s at Reading, and Ravindram said there were two or three trains a week consisting of Class 387s hauled by Class 57s to and from the depot, because Network Rail had still to complete electrification between Maidenhead and Reading. GWR also uses part of Hitachi’s North Pole IEP depot for its ‘387s’.

Reading Depot was built as part of the station’s recent major remodelling, and GWR is making further changes to the depot as it prepares to withdraw from Old Oak Common to make way for HS2. Work at Reading includes installing a wheel lathe, completion of its electrification, installation of facilities to maintain GWR’s Sleeper stock, and building more ‘controlled emission toilet’ emptying kit.

Other work surrounding the introduction of Class 387s includes bringing new stabling sidings into use at Maidenhead, testing 12-car formations at up to 110mph under NR’s new overhead wire design, and finding storage facilities for the Turbo DMUs that are being displaced to GWR services further west.

Ravindram claimed reliability figures of 24,138 miles per technical incident (MTIN) for GWR Class 387s.

Electrification should extend from Reading to Newbury by December 2018 and Didcot to Oxford at some point in the 2019-2024 Control Period.