British Rail Class 68
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.jpg) DRS Class "68019" "Brutus" | |||||||||||||||||
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The British Rail Class 68 is a diesel locomotive first appearing in 2014. It is capable of hauling both passenger and freight trains. It was made by Stadler Rail Valencia in Spain. There are two more locomotive types that are based on the Class 68: the Class 88 and Class 93.
Background
[change | change source]Before the Class 68s, Direct Rail Services (DRS) had a small number of Class 20 locomotives to transport nuclear waste. DRS knew that these old diesels were increasingly become unworthy for their task. The company had Class 66 locomotives. These machines were deemed inefficient for DRS's needs. The Class 66s also did not meet emission standards set by the European Union at the time.[3]
By 2009, DRS sought to purchase new locomotives. Companies such as Brush Traction, Bombardier Transportation and Siemens were considered. DRS turned down this direction. They wanted small number of locomotives. Beacon Rail suggested DRS to look to Valencia.[3]
Vossloh of Valencia had a prototype for their EUROLight model. Some changes had to be made to the design to make the machine be able to run on British rails and to meet DRS's needs. This included raising the top speed from 75 mph (121 km/h) to 100 mph (160 km/h).[3]
Order and production
[change | change source]In 2012, Direct Rail Services (DRS) ordered 15 locomotives from Vossloh.[4] These locomotives were built at Vossloh's factory in Valencia, Spain. The first units were delivered in 2014.[5]
An option to have ten more locomotives was taken up in September 2014.[6] An additional seven were ordered in 2015.[7] At the end of 2015, Stadler Rail took over Vossloh's Valencia factory.[8]
Operations
[change | change source]The Class 68s entered service with Direct Rail Services.[9] The company rented out some of their locomotives to the following operators:
Direct Rail Services
[change | change source]
The Class 68s began trial during February 2014. The tests happened between Carlisle and Crewe.[10] During mid-2014, DRS said that the locomotives were often used to handle the container traffic. The class was also used by Network Rail, who had been contracted to operate their trains.[11] DRS also used the Class 68 to haul nuclear flask trains on a routine basis. According to the Rail Magazine, the locomotives proved to be highly effective.[3]
Chiltern Railways
[change | change source]From December 2014, Chiltern Railways subleased six Class 68s from DRS. The railway picked locomotives 68010 to 68015. These replaced the Class 67s on services between London Marylebone and Birmingham Snow Hill.[12][13]
The Class 68s have been painted in Chiltern's silver Mainline livery. They also receive Association of American Railroads (AAR) push-pull equipment. This gave them the ability to work with Mark 3 coaches. Two of DRS's Class 68s, 68008 and 68009, were also given AAR push-pull equipment.[14]
Abellio ScotRail
[change | change source]In April 2015, Abellio ScotRail borrowed two Class 68s. The company used them to pull Mark 2 coaches on the Fife Circle Line during peak hours. By the end of May 2020, these services ended. This happened because the accessibility rule exception for the non-compliant Mark 2 coaches had expired.[15]
TransPennine Express
[change | change source]TransPennine Express rented 68019 to 68032 from DRS in August 2019. They were paired with five-coach rakes of Mark 5A, with a driving trailer at the other end. The sets were at first used on the Liverpool Lime Street to Scarborough route. Once more coaches and staff were brought in, the Class 68s also worked on Manchester Airport to Redcar Central services.[16][17]
In August 2023, TransPennine Express announced that they were pulling the Class 68s and Mark 5A coaches from service. The change took effect with the December 2023 timetable update.[18]
Liveries
[change | change source]- Example Class 68 liveries
-
Abellio ScotRail (68007) -
Chiltern Railways (68010) -
TransPennine Express (68019)
References
[change | change source]- ↑ "The Next Generation Diesel–Electric Locomotive has Arrived" (PDF). www.directrailservices.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 May 2018. Retrieved 5 April 2025.
- ↑ "UKLIGHT Diesel-Electric Locomotive" (PDF). www.vossloh-innotrans.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 April 2014. Retrieved 5 April 2025.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "Ready for the '88' revolution". Rail. 19 December 2016. Archived from the original on 14 February 2021. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
- ↑ "Direct Rail Services orders 15 Vossloh EuroLight UK locomotives". Railway Gazette. 5 January 2012. Archived from the original on 21 October 2012. Retrieved 6 April 2025.
- ↑ "DRS unveils new Class 68 diesel in Crewe". Railnews. 12 March 2014. Retrieved 6 April 2025.
- ↑ Barrow, Keith (12 September 2014). "DRS orders more Vossloh locomotives". International Railway Journal. Retrieved 6 April 2025.
- ↑ Clinnick, Richard (19 August 2015). "Seven more Vossloh Class 68s ordered for DRS". Rail Magazine. Retrieved 6 April 2025.
- ↑ "Stadler completes purchase of Vossloh Rail Vehicles". Railway Gazette. 4 January 2016. Archived from the original on 18 January 2016. Retrieved 6 April 2025.
- ↑ "EXCLUSIVE: Inside Direct Rail Services". Rail. 18 January 2018. Retrieved 9 April 2025.
- ↑ "Class 68 – a new face on the line". North Wales Coast Railway – Notice Board. 10 February 2014. Archived from the original on 18 October 2021. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
- ↑ Pritchard, Robert (May 2014). "DRS showcases first Class 68". Today's Railways. No. 149. Platform 5 Publishing. pp. 62–63.
- ↑ "Chiltern to lease six Class 68 locomotives from DRS". Railway Herald. Scunthorpe. 10 April 2014. Archived from the original on 14 December 2017. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
- ↑ "Chiltern leases six Class 68 locos for Mainline services in £15m deal". Rail Technology Magazine. Manchester: Cognitive Publishing. 15 April 2014. Archived from the original on 21 July 2018. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
- ↑ "68s equipped with push-pull". Rail Magazine. No. 754. Peterborough. 6 August 2014. p. 33.
- ↑ Clinnick, Richard (28 May 2020). "End of the line for locomotive-hauled Fife Circle trains". Rail Magazine. Archived from the original on 13 April 2021. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
- ↑ Briginshaw, David (23 May 2016). "CAF to supply trains to TransPennine Express". International Railway Journal. Falmouth: Simmons-Boardman Publishing. Archived from the original on 15 August 2018. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
- ↑ Clinnick, Richard (1 March 2017). "New-build DRS Class 68s to operate TPE's Mk 5 rakes". Rail. Peterborough. Archived from the original on 30 March 2017. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
- ↑ "TransPennineExpress to stop using loco-hauled push-pull trains in December". Railway Gazette International. 30 August 2023. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
Other websites
[change | change source]
Media related to British Rail Class 68 at Wikimedia Commons
