British Rail Class 220

Technical details

All coaches are equipped with a Cummins QSK19 diesel engine of 750 hp (560 kW) at 1800rpm. These power a generator which supplies current to motors driving two axles per coach, with one axle per bogie powered.

Voyagers have both air and rheostatic brakes. They are fitted with Dellner couplers, like the Class 222, operated by East Midlands Trains and the Class 390 Pendolino electric trains used by Virgin West Coast meaning they can be coupled in rescue/recovery mode (air brake only) in the event of a failure. 220s and 221s can also be easily assisted by Dellner fitted Class 57s (Thunderbirds) in the event of a failure. By use of adaptive couplings a failed 220 or 221 can also be assisted by any air braked locomotive such as a Class 37, 47 or 66 or even an HST. The units can work in multiple with Class 221 units but not Class 222 units as the electrical connections of the Class 222 units are incompatible with the Class 220.

The Class 220s and closely related Class 222s have B5005 bogies, which are distinctive as they are of inside-frame design and so the axles are supported by bearings behind the wheels, meaning the outside face of the wheel is visible. The related Class 221 Super Voyager has outside-frame bogies and hence a more conventional appearance.

The Class 220s operate in four-coach sets with a carriage mass of between 45 and 48 tonnes and a total train weight of 185.6 tonnes, a top speed of 125 mph (200 km/h) and a maximum range of approximately 1,350 miles (2,170 km) between each refuelling. Their route availability is very good being RA 2 - in part due to the lightweight bogie design.

Class 220 units do not have automatic sanding equipment, and instead have "one-shot" sanders which activate when all of the following conditions are met:

1. The emergency stop button has been pressed;
2. Wheel slip has been detected;
3. Train speed is over 8 miles per hour (13 km/h).

As it was necessary to take the train out of service for refill following the deployment of sand, Bombardier fitted a second sand bottle, allowing two uses before the train would need to be withdrawn from service. The CrossCountry fleet was modified between February and June 2011.

All Voyagers are maintained at the dedicated Central Rivers TMD near Burton-on-Trent.

Accidents and incidents

Units have sometimes been stopped by salt water, when storm-driven waves broke over the train at Dawlish in south Devon and inundated the resistor banks, causing the control software to shut down. This problem was fixed by an upgrade to the control software.

There were a number of exhaust fires on the Voyager class during 2005–2006 due to incorrect fitting of equipment during overhauls. Fires occurred at Starcross (Class 221), Newcastle and on 19 January 2006 at Congleton.

On 14 March 2008, 220 012, forming a service to Derby, had a roof fire at Banbury. This fire was caused by a bird getting caught under one of the hot brake resistors on the roof of the train. Damage to the train was not serious and it was repaired and returned to service.

Formation and passenger facilities

Class 220s operate in four-coach sets. These trains, unlike the older trains they replaced, feature electronic information boards on the exterior walls showing the train number, the time, the coach, the train's destination, and the next station. This is also a feature of the Class 221 and Class 222 trains (The Class 390 trains have such electronic information boards, but in the doors). They are air-conditioned throughout, with powered doors. The coaches are fitted with power sockets for laptop computers and mobile phone charging. Toilet facilities for disabled people and storage facilities for bicycles are provided.

They provide 26 seats in 2+1 formation in first class and 174 seats in 2+2 formation in standard class.

The formation of a four-car Class 220 is as follows:

There is no coach B on the four car class 220, it exists on the 5-car class 221 and is usually a coach which holds no reservations. This aids short-term fleet changes, for example if a class 220 is running in a diagram that usually has a class 221, then the loss of a coach will not affect the reservation system, as they will all still be allocated. CrossCountry has finished updating the interior layout of all its 220 and 221 sets; the aim is to increase seating capacity, in line with its commitments to the franchise agreements, as well as provide an at-seat trolley service for refreshments instead of a shop. Research had shown that the shop was not making as good a turnover as hoped because people prefer not to leave their seats to get refreshments; they feared either losing their seat or having their belongings stolen when away. In Virgin Trains' unsuccessful franchise bid it also cited removal of the shop from 220s and 221s as a way of trying to improve seating capacity.

The interior renovation involved the removal of the shop from coach D and the conversion of the stowage area in coach F to a catering storage area where there is now a fridge, food storage and a space for an on-board trolley to be stored. Bicycle storage has been moved to coach D where the shop was. It can now store three bicycles instead of four.

The Class 220s have been criticised for a number of shortcomings:

Operation

All units are owned by Voyager Leasing, a consortium of Lloyds Banking Group and Angel Trains. They are leased to the train operating companies; as of 2013, CrossCountry is the only operator of Class 220 units.

Virgin Trains was the sole operator of Class 220 Voyager trains when they were introduced in 2001, via their Virgin West Coast and Virgin CrossCountry franchises. When the Cross Country Route franchise was transferred to Arriva CrossCountry in November 2007, most of the Voyager fleet was transferred with it, and by the end of 2007 CrossCountry was the sole operator of Class 220 units.

The 220s often operate in multiple with Class 221 units, which are mechanically similar except for their bogies and have the same coupler type.

Fleet details

There are 34 Class 220 Voyager trains, numbered 220 001–220 034.

Virgin Trains named all the Class 220 Voyagers after places that they serve or companies that have relations with Virgin Trains.

When the Class 220s were transferred to the new operator CrossCountry, all the names were removed. All Class 220 Voyagers are now in CrossCountry livery.