Eversholt targets 100mph running for Swift Express freight

The Swift Express Freight unit, to be converted from 321334 ( RAIL 927), will be able to run at 100mph and carry 12 tonnes of freight per vehicle.

Eversholt Rail, which owns the four-car electric multiple unit, has designed the train in partnership with Ricardo, using a redundant former Greater Anglia Class 321.

Eversholt Client Relations Director Paul Sutherland said that the plan was for the trains (and any follow-on orders) to meet the growing demand for home delivery of parcels across the UK, offering a cost-effective and lowcarbon solution.

The conversion work, which began in April at Wabtec Rail, Doncaster, involves removing all passenger features, installing new flooring and equipment to retain containers, and a new livery. It’s planned that the ‘321’ will begin trials in June, with routes yet to be confirmed.

“This demonstrator will show the potential for a modal shift of parcel freight to rail for rapid delivery to urban centres around the UK - removing trucks from our streets, reducing carbon emissions, and improving air quality,” said Jonathan Brown, Ricardo Technical & Innovation

Lead (Rail).

There are currently 82 Class 321s in traffic with GA, with a further four stored (16 have been scrapped).

Of those 82, at least ten will be used for the hydrogen Breeze Class 600 trials - these will most likely be from the Renatus conversions (321301-330) that were fitted with modern interiors and new traction packages.