Rail — rolling stock & vehicles
Rail — rolling stock & vehiclesFleet extension; Vehicle/fleet programme
British Rail Class 390 Pendolino Fleet Extension
UK (West Coast Main Line) · 2012 (new trains/carriages); 2010s (lengthening)
The judgement call
Account-gated at launch* Strategic decision to increase capacity on the West Coast Main Line through fleet expansion and lengthening. * The complexity of integrating new rolling stock with advanced tilting technology into an operational high-speed network.
Key engineering challenges
* Seamless integration of new carriages and trains into an existing high-speed tilting fleet. * Ensuring compatibility with the West Coast Main Line infrastructure and signalling systems. * Maintaining the tilting mechanism's performance and reliability across the expanded fleet.
Project facts
- Client / owner
- Virgin Trains (initially), Avanti West Coast
- Lead contractor
- Alstom
- Lead designers
- Alstom
- Project type
- Vehicle/fleet programme
- Scale
- Three new trains; 62 additional carriages; some trains lengthened to 11 cars; additional batch of four 11-car trains.
- Disciplines
- Mechanical; Electrical; Systems
- Standards & frameworks
- RSSB; Network Rail standards
Sources: * British Rail Class 390 (Wikipedia) * Railway Technology (railway-technology.com)