More Mk 3 coaches dispatched from Ely for dismantling
A further 23 High Speed Train Mk 3 coaches have been scrapped, taking the overall number to 159 since the introduction of new and cascaded trains to replace them.
Twenty of the 23 scrapped at the start of June were former Great Western Railway coaches, while all three ex-Grand Central catering vehicles were dismantled. All 23 were owned by Angel Trains and stored at Potter Group, Ely. Eighteen went to Sims Group at Newport and five to Raxstar at Eastleigh.
That leaves 129 ex-GWR,
LNER and East Midlands Railway coaches stored at Ely and Long Marston. These are owned by Angel Trains, Porterbrook and FirstGroup. A source told RAIL that there had been little interest in leasing the vehicles, while the stored Class 43 power cars had also attracted little interest beyond their MTU power units.
One operator interested in using an HST for charter work told RAIL that the plan had been scrapped due to the condition of the rolling stock after it had spent more than a year out of traffic.
More Mk 3s are set to be withdrawn soon, with the dispensation for the original
EMR Mk 3s to continue working despite not meeting accessibility regulations due to expire in late July (see Network News), followed by that for their replacements from LNER at the end of December.
The coaches taken to Newport on June 8 were Trailer Buffet First (TFB) 40210 (which had been used for training in Scotland), ex-GC Trailer Buffet Standard (TSB) 40424/426/433, Trailer Kitchen Buffet First (TFKB) 40721 and Trailer Standard (TS) 42514.
Two days later, former GWR TFKB 40703, TS 42041, 42126, 42501/513 and Trailer Guards Standard (TGS) 44028 made their final trip to Newport. On June
15, they were followed by TFKB 40716/718/733/752 and TGS 44013/049.
The stock taken to Eastleigh was TFKB 40710/727/739, TS 42516 and TGS 44022.
This leaves 33 ex-GWR and 37 ex-LNER Mk 3s at Potter Group, Ely, as well as 58 ex-GWR Mk 3s at Long Marston and former EMR TGS 44044.