DEPOT VISIT
INSIDE THE BEATING HEART
The ‘Voyager’ fleet has clocked up almost 400 million miles in 20 years of service, supported in that time by the team at Central Rivers depot – which, as Paul Bickerdyke discovers, can see up to half the fleet pass through in a typical day.
No. 221134 raised up in the maintenance shed.
ALL PHOTOS TAKEN AT CENTRAL RIVERS ON JULY 27 BY PAUL BICKERDYKE
LOVE them or not, the Class 220 and 221 ‘Voyagers’ play an undeniable key role on the inter-city networks of both CrossCountry and Avanti West Coast. The fleet of 78 four and fivecar units connect Penzance with Aberdeen, Bournemouth with Manchester, Euston with Holyhead and many other towns and cities in between. In terms of distances travelled, they are arguably one of the hardest working fleets around, with each unit completing an estimated 250,000 miles per year, meaning the total fleet mileage to date is approaching 400 million miles.
Because of the geographical distances involved, there are a handful of depots around the country that are used to fuel and service the sets at the end of each day. But the beating heart of the operation is Central Rivers depot in Barton-under-Needwood, a few miles south of Burton-on-Trent in Staffordshire. Here up to half the fleet is cleaned, fuelled, serviced, and maintained every day – many of which are turned round on a single night shift – and there is capacity to stable up to 36 units at any one time.