Something that’s already in service and going down well in Scotland is ScotRail’s much-publicised bike carriages. They’ve been introduced on the new ScotRail Highland Explorer service operating along the West Highland Line from Glasgow to Oban. In all, five Class 153 carriages have been completely redesigned to cater for ordinary bikes and even some tandems. The carriages also feature e-bike charging sockets - a first in the UK.
It’s hoped that the new service will encourage people to leave the car at home and instead use the train to travel into the countryside.
“The initiative was driven and funded by Transport Scotland’s active travel campaign. They put forward the proposal and it coincided with the ‘153s’ coming off lease,” says ScotRail Senior Fleet Engineer Tom Smith.
“Right from the start of the project, the public has been really positive about the changes. They recognised that we are doing something a bit different and unusual. It’s pioneering in a way, because in getting these carriages done we are fixing a real issue, particularly in the summer. It’s been a very welcome addition.”
One of the benefits of the project was that Smith and his colleagues effectively had a blank sheet of paper to work with. He explains: “The first question we asked was how many bikes do you want on a train? We had quite an open discussion between cyclists and passengers who use the trains for tourism.”
The eventual design resulted in 20 spaces for bikes and 24 seats in the new carriages.
“A lot of cyclists said they wanted to sit in the same carriage as their bike. Some cyclists can spend thousands of pounds on their bike, so having a line of sight to them was very important.”
Having provided the space for specific travellers, it’s natural for a train operator to want to shout about it, perhaps with new branding signposting where it is on the train.
But transport branding expert Ray Stenning, of Best Impressions, has worked with a variety of rail and bus companies, and has a vast knowledge of what works - and (more importantly) what doesn’t.
He suggests that too much branding can be confusing: “Operators need to be careful that they don’t create a brand within a brand within a brand, which could very easily and very likely lead to misunderstanding, misremembering and confusion.”
Stenning says it’s more to do with recognition and giving confidence to a customer to find the bit of the train they’re looking for. So, how does a train operator decide how to make a new section of their train more visible?
“How that’s done can’t be decided by a formula in advance. It would have to stand apart from ‘ordinary’ bits of the train, yet not jar with the visual identity that’s already established,” says Stenning.
He maintains that there are no textbooks to say how it should be done: “It’s not a rigid in-advance superimposition - it’s a more fluid, sensitive process. It would be foolish to state exactly how you would signpost these areas before you have all the factors in your hands, and you can use them intelligently to find the best and right solution.”
Away from passenger trains, another major repurposing involves the movement of parcels by changing the interior of the Class 319 rolling stock. Last year, Orion (part of the Rail Operations Group) and Network Rail showed how the concept works at an event at Euston station in London.
The former passenger trains are being converted to take goods directly into city centre stations. As well as online retail, the flexible freight operation could transport other light goods needed by businesses in super-fast time. Bicycle or van couriers would then take the parcels for final delivery.
The trains can travel up to 100mph, twice the average speed of road traffic. As well as faster delivery times, the converted trains are cleaner than air and road haulage, and they can access city centres (unlike larger-scale rail freight or air).
The Class 319 conversion involves the removal of all passenger-related equipment, including seats, overhead luggage racks, heating systems and draft partitions. The conversion also requires the repositioning of other underfloor electrical and pneumatic equipment.
Using converted, electrically-powered passenger trains, Orion is not only able to demonstrate the environmental benefits of rail-borne logistics operations, but also its sustainability credentials by repurposing what would otherwise have been a redundant train fleet destined for the scrapyard.
Speaking last year, then Rail Minister Chris Heaton-Harris said: “It is really positive to see companies exploring innovative methods like this to transport rail freight. Repurposing former passenger trains will allow light goods to travel to consumers in a faster and greener way, helping to decarbonise our railway, reduce congestion on our roads and support growth in the rail freight market.”
The first regular services are due to start running this year.
Across the railway, so much seems to be happening. And with the coming of Great British Railways and greater levels of devolution, things could be changing. Angel Trains’ work with PriestmanGoode and the First of a Kind competition has drawn ministerial interest.
Angel Trains’ James Brown says: “The Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail does specify a number of stated aims around improving the passenger environment and making it more flexible. Hopefully, they will be open to more options, and certainly on this project the amount of engagement we got from the DfT and Grant Shapps visiting and exploring the project suggests that they might be open to some different proposals.”
Whatever happens, Ian Wright of Transport Focus maintains that passengers must be consulted: “We are in a period of flux, so we don’t absolutely know where we are going to end up. But wherever we do, we should involve passengers in some of those decisions.”
Many operators are already focused on the long-term customer experience. LNER’s Abu Siddeeq says: “If you look after people today and they have a better experience, they are much more likely to be loyal to the railway and to take more journeys with us, therefore making a strong revenue case for doing more to improve the experience.
“We need to learn from other industries on how they increase brand trust and confidence, by listening to their customers and investing in and improving their customers’ experiences.”
The key is creativity and innovation going forward, and the hope is that the creation of Great British Railways doesn’t stop those things from happening.
If we are to decarbonise transport and get people (particularly families) out of their cars, a more attractive, accessible and comfortable railway is crucial in making it happen. It’s time to let the train take the strain again, but we must also ensure that passengers can relax while they’re travelling. ■
