Eversholt Rail regains Class 365 ownership

OWNERSHIP OF 40 four-car Class 365 electric multiple units returned to Eversholt Rail on July 1 following a spell owned by Department for Transport subsidiary Train Fleet (2019) Limited. The DFT took over ownership of the trains just under two years ago from Eversholt, due to a unique financing model put in place by British Rail prior to privatisation which meant the Government took over ownership of the fleet at 02:00 on August 15, 2019.

The trains are currently stored at various locations across the Great Northern network following withdrawal in May this year, while 19 other sets have been stored at Crewe South Yard – some for up to three years – while negotiations for a home continue.

Ten ‘365s’ were used on a short-term basis by Scotrail to cover for unavailable new Class 385s, but have since been returned to store. One option for the EMUS is use as freight multiple units, an idea put forward by Varamis Rail, which hopes to use them for duties on the East Coast Main Line, although the company has yet to receive permission to operate on the national network. An Eversholt Rail source told Railways Illustrated discussions between the two companies had been positive.