The RCTS: then and now
THE Railway Observer of January 2012 reported on the delivery of new additional ‘Pendolino’ stock for use on the West Coast Main Line (WCML). By this point, the ‘Pendolinos’ had already been in service since 2002. Passenger use on the WCML had increased substantially since then, thus additional capacity was required. Lessor Angel Trains had ordered a further four 11-coach trains in September 2008, together with 62 additional coaches that would lengthen the existing 31 sets by two coaches each. The additional 106 vehicles would provide a further 7420 seats in total. The new stock was constructed by Alstom at its works in Savigliano, Italy, where work commenced in January 2009. The original ‘Pendolino’ stock had been constructed at Alstom’s plant in Washwood Heath, Birmingham, but by the time the order had been placed, this facility had closed. The commissioning of the new stock took place at Alstom’s Traincare Centre at Edge Hill, Liverpool. This site had to undergo significant modification in order to accommodate the new longer trainsets. Similar work was required at Alstom’s four other Traincare Centres on the WCML at Wembley, Oxley (Wolverhampton), Polmadie (Glasgow) and Longsight (Manchester). The fleet is allocated to Longsight, and that is where all heavy maintenance is carried out. The new stock was delivered by the Channel Tunnel and arrived in the UK at Dollands Moor. It was then hauled onwards to Edge Hill by Colas Rail Class 66s. The first of the new sets was accepted on July 12, 2011 and the first test run was operated in March 2012. Perhaps surprisingly, this took place on the East Coast Main Line, and involved set No. 390055 running from Edinburgh to King’s Cross. The first 11-car set No. 390156 entered service on April 5, 2012 and the lengthening project as a whole was completed by December 2012. In order to provide additional seats prior to the lengthening project, and also in response to the loss of a ‘Pendolino’ in the Grayrigg derailment of February 23, 2007, Virgin Trains leased a Class 90, a rake of Mk.3 coaches and a Driving Van Trailer (DVT). This train was painted in Virgin Trains’ colours and was popularly known as the ‘Pretendolino’. Even when the additional ‘Pendolino’ stock had entered service, the ‘Pretendolino’ continued to be used. It finally bowed out with a railtour on October 25, 2014 called ‘The Welsh Wizard’, which was jointly organised by The Railway Magazine and Direct Rail Services. Today, the ‘Pendolinos’ continue in front line service on the WCML. Virgin Trains’ franchise expired on December 7, 2019; it did not contest the loss of its franchise as joint venture partner Stagecoach had been disqualified due to an invalid franchise bid in April 2019. Avanti West Coast took over, along with the ‘Pendolino’ fleet, in December 2019. ‘Pendolino’ operations and incidents still figure highly in the monthly reports published in the Railway Observer to this day, the trains making headline news almost 20 years after their introduction to the WCML. For information on the Society visit www.rcts.org.uk