LM bids for Class 321s
20 August 2008
London Midland is bidding with the Department for Transport to retain part of its Class 321 fleet. The operator is taking delivery of 37x4-car new Class 350/2 Desiro trains, which have superior acceleration characteristics best able to make the most of the limited capacity available on the busy West Coast main line. The first ten are to be in place by the December timetable change (eight diagrams) with the remainder coming in the spring of 2009.
London Midland was due to give up its 37x4-car Class 321 fleet in return. This was to be allocated:
- National Express East Anglia: 22x4-car
- C2C: 10x4-car
- First Capital Connect¹s Great Northern services: 5x4-car.
If LM is successful in its bid to retain Class 321s, a possible loser is C2C. This operator wanted them to operate in conjunction with the eight-car turnback siding at Grays, but Network Rail has so far failed to deliver this siding, originally scheduled to be ready for the May 2008 timetable.
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