Photo by Peter Scuse/Wikimedia Commons
Bad news ffor Heathrow Express with their class 323 fleet withdrawn indefinitely due to safety concerns.
THE premium fare train service to Heathrow Airport will be operated by substitute rolling stock until further notice, after depot staff carrying out routine maintenance on Sunday reportedly discovered a crack in an underframe which the operator has described as a ‘structural defect’.
The Class 332 fleet has operated Heathrow Express since the service began in 1998. The units were supplied to BAA after a contract had been agreed with a joint venture between Siemens and CAF, and built by CAF at Zaragoza in Spain. Engineers from both companies have arrived at Old Oak Common depot to help investigate the fault.
As a temporary measure the all-stations Heathrow Connect service has been suspended and their class 360 units reassigned to cover the non-stop Heathrow Express. With one report using the words “withdrawn for the foreseeable future” it doesn’t sound as though any repairs tothe 332s will be either quick or cheap, One even wonders if early retirement for the 18-year old trains is a possibility.
If the 332s do end up requiring either substantial rebuilds or complete replacement, what other AC rolling stock might be available in the medium term? Any trains would nred to be both certified to use the underground station at the airport and be fitted with ATP (Automatic Train Protection) for the Great Western Main line, which may well rule out superannunated class 313s or 317s. But perhaps some of the new Crossrail trains, originally slated to make their passenger début on the Great Eastern line prior to the opening of Crossrail might instead begin running out of Paddington?
There have been no reports of problems with the very similar class 333 units used in West Yorkshire; possibly the higher speeds of Heathrow Express have meant the problems have come to light earlier.