British Rail Class 222
| British Rail Class 222 | |
|---|---|
 A five-car East Midlands Trains Class 222 at Derby railway station | |
| Specifications | |
| Braking system(s) | Rheostatic |
The British Rail Class 222 is a diesel-electric multiple unit high-speed train. The Class 222, manufactured by Bombardier Transportation is capable of 125 mph. A total of twenty-seven Class 222 units exist, with possibly more to come.
Although the Class 222 is similar to the Class 220 and 221 Voyager units used by CrossCountry, and has a similar appearance, the Class 222 has a radically different interior, altered after lessons learned from the Voyagers which received negative feedback regarding cramped conditions in their interiors; the 222s have more components fitted under the floors.
Details
Engine
All coaches are equipped with a Cummins QSK19 diesel engine of 560kW (750hp) at 1800rpm. This powers a generator which supplies current to motors driving two axles per coach. 1200 miles can be travelled between refuellings.
Formation
East Midlands Trains - eight car class 222 :
- Coach A - Standard Class with driving cab and reservable space for four bikes
- Coach B - Standard Class
- Coach C - Standard Class
- Coach D - Standard Class
- Coach E - Standard Class with Shop/Buffet counter
- Coach G - First Class
- Coach H - First Class
- Coach J - First Class and driving cab
East Midlands Trains - four/five car class 222:
- Coach A - Standard Class with driving cab and reservable space for four bikes
- Coach B - Standard Class - only in five car class 222
- Coach C - Standard Class
- Coach D - Standard Class / First Class
- Coach G - First Class and driving cab
Hull Trains - four car class 222:
- Coach A - First Class and driving cab
- Coach B - First Class / Standard Class
- Coach C - Standard Class
- Coach D - Standard Class with driving cab and reservable space for bikes
Brakes
Class 222 units make use of Rheostatic brakes (the same as the class 220/1 Voyagers. 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 on the roof of each coach. This slows the train and saves on brake shoe wear.
Couplers
The class 222 units have Dellner couplers fitted, which are the same type of couplers fitted to the Voyager and Super Voyager units, though these units cannot be coupled to work together in service. This is due to differences in electrical systems. They can be coupled to push or pull each other though if a unit becomes faulty.
Current Operators
East Midlands Trains
East Midlands Trains, operated by Stagecoach, took over from Midland Mainline on 11 November 2007. All Midland Mainline Meridian units were transferred on this date. East Midlands Trains fleet comprises seven eight-car sets, seven five-car sets and nine four-car sets.
The eight-car Meridians are used to supplement the East Midlands Trains HST fleet with services on the London to Nottingham line and on some services to and from Sheffield. The sixteen four- or five-car Meridians are primarily used between London and Derby or Nottingham on semi-fast services, stopping at places such as Loughborough, Market Harborough and Wellingborough.
When the units were ordered Midland Mainline miscalculated the number of first class customers who would use these Meridians, and as a result was left with too much first-class accommodation in the four-car Meridians (leading to the four-car Meridian having slightly less standard class seating than a three-car Turbostar it was replacing). Coach D on introduction to service had a section of declassified first class seating which standard class passengers may use, and on some four car units, this still exists.
As part of the December 2008 timetable change the Meridians will be put on the hourly Sheffield off peak services. This is because the Meridians have faster acceleration than the HSTs and so will be able to reduce the Sheffield—London journey time by twelve minutes. All other Meridians will continue to operate on their current routes[1].
East Midlands Trains plan include the shops being replaced with a trolley service, on all Meridians, and there is mixed feedback about Stagecoach taking this action.
East Midlands Trains have some eight-car Meridians named after some of the cities and towns of which they serve, they were named by Midland Mainline just before the end of their franchise. They are named the following.
| Unit Number | Name | Date Named | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| 222004 | City Of Sheffield | 29 March 2007 | Named by the Lord Mayor of Sheffield, Councillor Jackie Drayton |
| 222005 | City Of Nottingham | 30 January 2007 | Named by the Lord Mayor of Nottingham, Councillor Des Wilson. |
| 222006 | City Of Leicester | 7 March 2007 | Named by the Lord Mayor of Leicester, Councillor Paul Westley. |
| 222007 | City Of Derby | 17 May 2007 | Named by the Mayor of Derby, Councillor John Ahern. |
Hull Trains
The train operating company Hull Trains introduced Class 222 units to replace its Class 170 Turbostars in May 2005. Hull Trains Class 222 units are called 'Pioneers', which is fitting with the city that they serve. Their introduction has brought journey time reductions of up to twenty minutes on the Hull to King's Cross railway station route. Internally, the Pioneers differ from the Meridians, as well as having a different colour scheme and layout Pioneers have less first-class seating.
Hull Trains' fleet consists of four four-car Pioneers, each named after a 'modern-day pioneer' related to Hull.
| 222 101 | Professor George Gray |
| 222 102 | Professor Stuart Palmer |
| 222 103 | Dr John Godber |
| 222 104 | Sir Terry Farrell |
222 103 is currently withdrawn from service following an accident during maintenance work which saw two of the unit's four cars badly damaged. Although the unit will be repaired, this will take some considerable time, leading Hull Trains to obtain alternative rolling stock in the short to medium term.
Previous Operators
Midland Mainline
The English train operating company Midland Mainline entered twenty-three Class 222 units in service on certain routes in 2004. Midland Mainline called them 'Meridians'. The Meridians were used to replace Midland Mainline's Turbostars, which were moved to Central Trains. The Meridians are 25 mph faster and have a better acceleration than the Turbostars. The Meridians are also reported to be more comfortable for passengers.
Midland Mainline ordered the seven nine-car Meridians for an enhanced London St. Pancras to Leeds service, but after the trains had been ordered, the Strategic Rail Authority decided not to allow them to run the service. The nine-car Meridians were instead used on Nottinging to London and some Sheffield to London services.
Initially the fleet consisted of seven nine-car Meridians and sixteen four-car Meridians but, at the end of 2006 Midland Mainline removed a carriage from the all of the nine car-Meridians and placed this carriage into seven of the four-car Meridians. This fleet reconfiguration now better suits demand to supply of capacity.
The entire fleet is now with East Midlands Trains.
Class 222 in Ireland
In 2005, HSBC Rail took delivery of the seven 9-car trains planned for use by Midland Mainline on their London-Leeds service. However, when the SRA prevented MML from undertaking this service, the trains were left idle as there was, at that time, no use for them. In order to put them into service, HSBC Rail made contact with both Northern Ireland Railways and Iarnród Éireann, with a view to possibly leasing these trains.[2] NIR looked at utilising the trains on the Belfast to Dublin line as one of a number of options, which included the purchase of additional 22000 Class railcars or cascaded coaching stock. In the event, the trains entered service with MML providing the fast services from London to Nottingham. The trains would have required significant modification to be used by NIR, which would have included reducing each train from nine to eight cars (the maximum length of stations on the Belfast-Dublin line), and converting them from standard gauge to 1600 mm gauge (5ft 3 inches).
Incident at Crofton Works
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Hull Trains Unit number 222103 received damage following an incident at Crofton Works earlier in January 2007. While on jacks, 8 of the jack arms collapsed damaging the undercarriage of the rear two coaches. The damaged units were taken to Derby by road for a final inspection. Dependent on the outcome of this, repairs may be forthcoming. The decision has been made to write these units off, replacements from Bombardier will be ready within 12-14 months. To cover the loss of this unit, Hull Trains intended to obtain the use of two Class 43 power cars and a rake of five coaches to form a fixed formation. This plan has been dropped as the HST allocated to Hull trains was doubly allocated to CrossCountry. Hull Trains have since implemented a two stage replacement strategy - in the short term, they have obtained the use of a locomotive and rake of coaches, which will be use until 125mph capable stock, in the form of the entire Class 180 fleet, becomes available. Once this is the case, Hull Trains will take over the use of up to two Class 180 units as cover until their Class 222 is repaired.
Incident at Stevenage
A Hull Trains Pioneer service from Hull to London Kings Cross caught fire whilst travelling through Stevenage in Hertfordshire at approximately 19.20 BST on Friday 10 August 2007. The fire reported to take 30 minutes to extinguish and no injuries were reported, however the extent of the damage to the Class 222 unit (number 222102) was not serious and the unit was back in service within two days.
Fleet Details
| Class | Operator | No. Built | Year Built | Cars per Set | Unit nos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Class 222/0 | East Midlands Trains | 23 | 2003 | 8 | 222001 - 222007 |
| 5 | 222011 - 222017 | ||||
| 4 | 222008 - 222010 222018 - 222023 | ||||
| Class 222/1 | Hull Trains | 4 | 2004 | 4 | 222101 - 222104 |
External links
- Midland Mainline web site
- Hull Trains web site
- Bombardier Website
- Railfaneurope.net Class 222 picture gallery