The Class 220 Voyager is a class of diesel-electric high-speed multiple-unit trains built by Bombardier Transportation for the British train operating company Virgin Trains, but are now operated by CrossCountry. They are air-conditioned throughout, with powered doors and a top speed of 125 mph (200 km/h). They were introduced to replace the thirty-year-old High Speed Train and Class 47 fleets. The trains were built between 2000 and 2001 and the first train entered service on 5 June 2001.
Technical Details
Below are the Technical details for the Class 220 Voyager.
Engine
All coaches are equipped with a Cummins QSK19 diesel engine of 750 hp (560 kW) at 1800rpm. This powers a generator which supplies current to motors driving two axles per coach. A Class 220 Voyager has a maximum range of approximately 1,350 miles (2,170 km) between each refuelling.
Formation
There are 34 Class 220 Voyager trains; numbered 220001 to 220034. They provide 26 seats in first class and 162 seats in standard class. All vehicles are air-conditioned and fitted with at-seat audio entertainment systems and power sockets for laptop computers and mobile phone charging.
The formation of a four car Class 220 Voyager is as follows:
Coach A - First Class and driving cab
Coach C - Standard Class
Coach D - Standard Class with Shop/Buffet counter
Coach F - Standard Class (Quiet Zone) with driving cab and reservable space for four bikes
The first class coach has a yellow rectangle on its front coupler to aid identification as a train approaches a station, as the nature of the Cross-Country network means that trains often get turned around. All Voyagers are maintained at the Central Rivers depot near Burton-on-Trent.
The train interiors provide toilets for disabled people and storage facilities for bicycles.
Brakes
Voyagers make use of rheostatic brakes. This system brakes the train by using the motors of the train in reverse to generate electricity which is then dissipated as heat through resistors situated in a grid on the roof of each coach. This slows the train and saves on brake shoe wear. However, these systems have caused problems: the resistors are known to reach temperatures of up to 500 °C (932 °F). In one incident a small piece of wood from a tree had become lodged in these grids, which then started a fire on the roof of the train. This resulted in the train being evacuated at Cheltenham Spa.[citation needed] Units have also been stopped due to waves breaking over the sea wall at Dawlish in storm conditions and inundating the resistor banks.
Couplers
The Voyagers are fitted with Dellner couplers which are the same type of couplers as the Class 390 Pendolino electric trains used by Virgin West Coast, and they can be coupled together in the event of a failure, although as the electrical systems are not compatible they are not coupled in normal service. The units are also capable of being pulled by Virgin's Thunderbirds, which are Class 57/3 locomotives used for rescue of failed trains that have been named after the eponymous TV series.
Similar trains
The principal differences between the Class 220 Voyager and otherwise very similar Class 221 SuperVoyager fleet are that the Class 221 SuperVoyager is designed to tilt when going around curves in order to allow higher speeds and that the Class 221 SuperVoyager usually consists of five coaches rather than the four coaches of a Class 220 Voyager.
The requirement to tilt means that the bogies are very different in appearance. On the Class 220 the axles are supported by bearings between the wheels and the outside face of the wheel is visible. The bogies of the Class 221 have outside bearings and the wheels are obscured from view by the frames.
When operated by Virgin the two types had differently coloured Virgin 'shield' logos on the nose of the train to aid identification; the Class 220 Voyager had a silver background to the shields and the Class 221 SuperVoyager had red background.
The Class 222 Meridian/Pioneer trains operated by East Midlands Trains and First Hull Trains are also similar, but are, according to Bombardier Transportation, '80% new train'.
Current Operations
CrossCountry
As the winner of the new Cross Country franchise, CrossCountry have now inherited all of the 34 Voyagers from Virgin CrossCountry. CrossCountry have the following plans regarding the Voyager trains.
They wish to introduce more services on key routes.
CrossCountry will remove the onboard shop and have indeed already done so on one unit.
Former Operations
Virgin Trains
Virgin Trains were the sole operator of all Class 220 Voyager trains when they were introduced in 2001, but this changed when the new CrossCountry rail franchise began on 11 November 2007. Until 8 December 2007 the Voyager fleet was shared between Virgin Trains and CrossCountry. Virgin Trains no longer operate any Class 220 Voyagers. They still operate some Class 221 SuperVoyagers for their West Coast services.
没有评论:
发表评论