The popular Southern Railway south coast Brighton-Eastbourne-Hastings-Ashford fast service suffers from over-crowding due to lack of carriages. The East Sussex Rail Alliance (ESRA) is engaged with the train operator, Southern, and the rail industry to ensure that the route gets higher priority for improvements, reports Co Chairman, Ray Chapman.
This week, Bexhill and Battle MP, Huw Merriman, led a fact-finding delegation to Vivarail at Long Marston, Warwickshire, organised by ESRA, to investigate the suitability of re-engineered ex-Transport-for-London District Line trains which could help Southern to improve their services. The team was joined by Southern Railway's lead engineer, David Hickson.
Due to budget restrictions imposed by the Department of Transport, Southern is unable to purchase more of the expensive current style of diesel stock for the Brighton to Ashford service. However, ESRA has carried out research on less expensive alternatives and found that Vivarail based in Long Marston could offer a very low-cost interim solution.
Ray Chapman commented: “We are short of 5 diesel sets to cope with the rising demand and to overcome cancellations due to failures. With the prospect of upgrading to electric services by 2020 we must fill the gap or lose an increasing number of travellers to return to road travel over the Coast's totally inadequate road system,”
The Vivarail stock will be on offer in Spring 2016. These highly innovative trains will cater for three types of service – heavy commuter, outer commuter and country requirements – with bright, light and capacious interiors set out for maximum comfort.
“Once trialled, these highly efficient diesel-electric train sets would be an ideal interim solution on South Coast services,” Ray Chapman continued. “Carrying up to 150 seats per 3-car train and a further 130 standing, these would provide just the extra capacity and comfort we need, by reinforcing the 2-car sets currently in operation, especially during peak periods when they are heavily overcrowded. They would also add extra reliability for the increasing numbers who leave Eastbourne, Bexhill, Hastings and Rye for Ashford for the Javelin and Eurostar services to London and the Continent.”
The Vivarail train sets, conceived by Adrian Shooter, Vivarail's CEO, (who developed the highly successful Chiltern rail network from privatisation), re-use the acclaimed and long-lived aluminium-bodied former District Line D78 stock which are stripped out, re-framed, refurnished and equipped with new running and drive gear, employing new technology diesel power units with ultra-low noise and emission levels.
Huw Merriman said "I applaud the initiative to try and find a solution to overcrowding on the South Coast. We had a productive trip to the Midlands to view this novel idea of recycling tube trains and I am incredibly grateful to the rail user groups and Southern Railways for joining the delegation. When politicians, train companies and passenger groups work together, as we are, there is more chance of us finding and delivering a solution for passengers."