GTR to withdraw and store Class 365 ‘peak busters’
THE remaining Class 365s will be withdrawn from traffic by Govia Thameslink Railway at the start of the May timetable.
Twenty-one four-car electric multiple units will be sent off-lease, joining 19 classmates withdrawn by GTR in 2018.
Class 365s are used by GTR’s Great Northern operation on the London King’s Cross-Peterborough/ Cambridge routes. GN also uses 29 Class 387/1s.
Owned by Train Fleet (2019) Limited (TF19) and dating from 1994-95, the EMUs are being sent off-lease because the majority of peak-time additional services on which they are used are not currently operating during the reduced timetable, which was introduced as a result of the pandemic.
“The Class 365 trains have been helpful ‘peak busters’ on a busy railway, but don’t benefit from air-conditioning, CCTV or selective door opening, making them less flexible than our other fleets,” said GTR Chief Operating Officer Steve White.
“Releasing this fleet earlier than planned, and temporarily reassigning other trains to reflect customer demand across the whole GTR network, allows us to make savings which is good news for the taxpayer.”
Subject to passenger demand in the short term, Gatwick Express Class ‘387/2s’ that are not currently needed due to the Gatwick Airport station remodelling scheme will be used on services previously operated by the ‘365s’.
However, in the longer term, the plan is for the GatEx ‘387/2s’ to return to the Gatwick route once air passengers return in volume and the Gatwick Airport station redevelopment is complete. At that point, GTR will work with the Department for Transport to introduce additional trains, which are thought to be (but not confirmed) the six c2c Class 387/3s.
TF19 is part of the DfT’s Operator of Last Resort operation. The Class 365s reverted to Government ownership in August 2019 ( RAIL 886).
In its annual report and financial statements up to March 31 2020, published on February 24, the OLR said that the Class 365 fleet “has continued to operate in passenger traffic, earning rental income for the company.
The rental income is expected to continue to allow it to generate positive cash flow for the foreseeable future. The remainder is in store and available for rent.
“There is an ongoing stream of potential rental opportunities for the remainder of the fleet, and these are being continuously explored, but the nature of the UK rolling stock market is that these take many months or years to mature.”
Those trains that are already out of traffic are in warm storage in Crewe South Yard, where they have access to overhead line equipment, with Rail Operations Group contracted to keep them operational as well as moving them to Crewe International Electric Maintenance Depot (IEMD) for routine maintenance.
Varamis Rail, which plans to operate high-speed logistics trains on the East Coast Main Line, has spoken of its desire to use the trains. However, no further plans have been unveiled.
Ten ‘365s’ were used by ScotRail on electric services in 2018, due to the late delivery of the Hitachi Class 385s. Their introduction won the ScotRail Alliance the National Rail Award Train of the Year accolade in 2019 ( RAIL 888).