REDUCTION IN CLASSIC TRACTION FOR 2016 RHTT SEASON

Published at 14:06 on Monday 10th October 2016
Tags: RHTT, Network Rail

 Ron Cover

Network Rail has provided details of the operators for the 2016 Rail Head Treatment Train operations across the country, which are expected to start in the coming weeks.


As in similar years, many of these operations are loco-hauled while a small number, mainly around Wigan and King's Norton, remain MPV worked. The operators for 2016 are Colas, DB Cargo, DRS and GBRf, with few changes from last year's workings. DB Cargo will be operating the Highland Main Line, Chiltern, Midland Main Line South, East Midlands, Bristol, West Wales, Devon & Cornwall, WCML South, Swindon, Peterborough and ECML South operations, with DRS working the ECML North/Tyne Valley, WCML North, Great Eastern Outer, West Anglia Outer, GE Inner/East Suffolk Line, West Yorkshire and East Yorkshire diagrams. GBRf traction will be employed on the West Anglia Inner, along with the South East diagrams, while Colas operate the Central Wales and Western diagrams.

As far as motive power is concerned this year, Class 66 locomotives dominate the proceedings, with Network Rail confirming that DRS will not be supplying Class 57 traction for the Stowmarket diagrams this year, which instead will be Class 66s. Therefore, the only non-GM operations will be the Central Wales diagram which will make use of NR Class 97s, the Cotswold circuit that will be Colas Class 56s, and the two York-based diagrams that will once again be DRS Class 20s. It is understood that some flexibility has been built into the two Carlisle diagrams with one set being Class 37s and the other a pair of '66s', however, Network Rail have confirmed that the wagon sets have been built to accommodate either loco type on either diagram.

One interesting development is the move of the Worcestershire/Gloucestershire loco-diagram from King's Norton to Gloucester Horton Road this year. While accommodating both MPVs and the RHTTs at Kings Norton has been challenging in the past due to the differing site needs, the move has been primarily driven by possessions surrounding the Kings Norton Depot. While the set up at Gloucester is relatively simple, Network Rail will review the operation at the end of the season with a view to using Gloucester next year.

Timings for the various diagrams will be available (with some searching) through RealTimeTrains, although as ever, RHTT workings are dictated by operational requirements so some diagrams may operate different routes on different days, and be changed at short notice. The RHTT season for each wagon set can also be shortened or extended as necessary, depending on the level of leaf-fall in each area.

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