£50m price tag on MML HST accessibility modifications
IT will cost approximately £50 million to modify nine High Speed Trains operated by East Midlands Trains, to ensure they comply with Persons with Reduced Mobility Technical Specification for Interoperability (PRM TSI) regulations that come into force on December 31 2019.
As it currently stands, EMT’s fleet of nine HSTs must be withdrawn by the end of next year. However, Secretary of State for Transport Chris Grayling has repeatedly said that replacement bi-mode trains will enter traffic in 2022, which leaves a hiatus of two years where a shortage of rolling stock must be addressed.
Porterbrook, which owns the HSTs, told RAIL it did not believe there is sufficient capacity in the supply chain to modify the coaches in time for the deadline next year, even if the design modifications were available. The rolling stock leasing company says 76 coaches are affected.
“Allowing for supply chain capacity, this might be achieved by late 2021/early 2022,” it added.
EMT also leases three seven-car HSTs from Angel Trains. These will enter traffic from May to boost capacity on the Midland Main Line.
A Department for Transport spokesman told RAIL on March 14: “We take the issue of accessibility on our railways extremely seriously. It is vital that all passengers have the same opportunities to travel, and we will continue to push train companies on this matter.
“All owners and operators of trains on the national network know that they must meet modern accessibility standards by the end of 2019, and we are working with East Midlands Trains to look at a range of possible options for meeting these requirements on the route before the bi-modes are introduced.”
Porterbrook confirmed both it and EMT have held discussions with DfT over the situation. The rolling stock company also told RAIL that it had explored the possibility of using intellectual property rights regarding door designs being fitted to other HSTs, but that these did not reach a successful conclusion.
On March 1, Grayling dismissed suggestions that Class 43 HST power cars would be converted to haul Mk 4s cascaded from the East Coast Main Line ( RAIL 848). These would not need any PRM TSI modifications by the end of next year to operate on the MML, due to work planned by Virgin Trains
East Coast.
RAIL also understands that there have been discussions on using Mk 4s for use on the MML, but there has been no confirmation surrounding this move.
Porterbrook told RAIL it “would be willing to make our HST power cars available to the owners of other coaches to see if an interim solution to PRM compliance could be found, in advance of a new fleet order for the MML. However, such an interim solution is likely to be both expensive and technically complicated.”
Transport Select Committee Chairman (and Nottingham South MP) Lilian Greenwood told RAIL on March 13: “I first raised this issue with ministers in September 2015. Now, almost two and a half years later, the Department is no nearer to a compliant solution that meets the needs of disabled passengers. It’s not good enough for them to say this is a matter for the operator, when they know the franchise is about to end. There is simply no excuse for ministers’ failure to plan for the 2020 deadline.”
EMT also operates 27 Class 222s in four-, five- and sevencar formations. These are unaffected.