15/03/2021, 10:50
I suggested on another forum yesterday that if merseyrail decided to return 507006 to service that the damaged coach could be exchanged for 1 of the 2 class 508/2 coaches at a training facility based in Seacombe.
This facility is mainly used by the fire service to allow firemen & women to train ( excuse the pun please ) for putting out fires within the coaches.
The damaged driving coach from 507006 could be swapped for 1 of these 2 coaches at the Seacombe facility because they are identical to the 507 driving coaches in every way, all that would be needed would be a complete swap over of all the internal fitments, cab interior and electrical equipment.
The unit would have to be tested before entering service again but I reckon it could be done.
The main reasons I say that are :
1 ) If 507006 is scrapped which would be a pity, that would reduce the number of passengers carried per day, ok it may not be a huge drop but it would be a possible drop in passenger numbers per day.
2 ) As the introduction of the class 777 units is constantly being pushed back ( although there are reasons for this ), Merseyside need as many units as they can get, not just for the services but to cover failures as well because having as many units as they can would at least allow them to get the frequency of the northern and wirral line services back to pre covid service timings.
While it is possible a few members may disagree with what I have said, merseyrail need as many trains as they can in order to maintain service levels.
I think we'll just have to see what happens really.
This facility is mainly used by the fire service to allow firemen & women to train ( excuse the pun please ) for putting out fires within the coaches.
The damaged driving coach from 507006 could be swapped for 1 of these 2 coaches at the Seacombe facility because they are identical to the 507 driving coaches in every way, all that would be needed would be a complete swap over of all the internal fitments, cab interior and electrical equipment.
The unit would have to be tested before entering service again but I reckon it could be done.
The main reasons I say that are :
1 ) If 507006 is scrapped which would be a pity, that would reduce the number of passengers carried per day, ok it may not be a huge drop but it would be a possible drop in passenger numbers per day.
2 ) As the introduction of the class 777 units is constantly being pushed back ( although there are reasons for this ), Merseyside need as many units as they can get, not just for the services but to cover failures as well because having as many units as they can would at least allow them to get the frequency of the northern and wirral line services back to pre covid service timings.
While it is possible a few members may disagree with what I have said, merseyrail need as many trains as they can in order to maintain service levels.
I think we'll just have to see what happens really.