Great Western Railway to replace ‘57/6s’ on Sleepers… but not yet

Replacing Class 57/6s on the ‘Night Riviera’ Sleeper trains will have to take place in the longterm, according to Great Western Railway Managing Director Mark Hopwood.

Speaking in Pistoia (Italy) on February 8, Hopwood said GWR had investigated using bi-mode Class 88s, to take advantage of electrification on the Great Western Main Line. However, this has been ruled out because their diesel capability was not to the standard required.

Hopwood said that depending upon negotiations with Government regarding the GWR franchise, the current operator could be running until 2024. He added that emissions were a factor in the consideration to replace 57602-57605, as London Paddington will be largely dieselfree in the near future.

He said GWR was looking at options, but did not elaborate. Beacon Rail, which owns the ‘88s’ used by Direct Rail Services, later suggested a Class 68 could be an option.

Hopwood suggested another possible factor in the decision to consider replacing the ‘57s’ is that while the Sleeper has been extended to six sleeping vehicles on busy trains in the summer, that was probably the limit the electric train supply from the ‘57/6’ could manage.

He also said that the age of the locomotives was an issue. While they have been fitted with replacement engines from General Motors, to replace the Sulzer engines fitted when they were Class 47s, he said they were still largely a locomotive dating from the early to mid-1960s.

First Great Western introduced 57602-57605 onto the Sleeper in 2004. It also hires a DRS ‘57/3’.