Hull Trains is an open access operator which has found a niche market - fast trains between London and Hull. The class 170 here is a 100mph unit and as they have to run amongst the 125mph GNER trains they are now buying new 125mph trains based on the Virgin Voyagers.
GNER are obviously very pleased to have won the franchise again So they should, everything I have seen and sampled says that GNER is a class act! The staff are very smart, helpful and obviously proud of their company. The trains are clean and well cared for and punctual.
To our delight, our ride back to Grantham was a good old HST - Still (in many peoples opinion - mine included) the best trains to have ever run on Britain's railways And with a diesel locomotive at each end, they also sound great!
GNER certainly is a class act, Alan. Saw two of their 'Eurostar' sets (one in GNER blue and the other in Eurostar white/yellow/blue sans markings) belting through Stevenage today whilst doing a site survey. Nice looking units! Oh, and guys (and gals), those 67 class diesels (as in 67002 above) are 125mph rated 4-axle EMD's!
Great pics Alan. I'm glad GNER kept the franchise also, they are the first operator to keep their franchise (rather than just having it extended for a short period) It's nice that the quality aspect was taken into account rather than a bid based on simply the lowest cost service. Guess what i'm afraid we're going to get down here in the South West....
These pictures are great , the cars and locos are clean !!!! Wow what a change with all the equipment we saw on this side of the pond ! You should send a copy of this to Amtrak ...
Any pics from the show? Also any pics from the York Railway Museum? In particular the 0 series Shinkansen...the only bullet train on display outside Japan! [ April 05, 2005, 12:15 PM: Message edited by: Don Rickle ]
