The British Rail Class 221 Super Voyager is a class of tilting diesel-electric multiple unit express passenger trains built in Bruges, Belgium, by Bombardier Transportation in 200102.
The class is similar to the Class 220 Voyager, but was built with a tilting mechanism enabling up to six degrees of tilt to allow higher speeds on curved tracks. Additionally, most have five coaches, and they have a different bogie design. They have a maximum speed of .
The trains are divided between three operators, Avanti West Coast (18 sets), CrossCountry (24 sets) and Grand Central (2 sets). CrossCountry sets had their tilt function disabled in 2008 to improve reliability and reduce maintenance costs.
Details
The Class 221 units were produced as five- or four-coach sets. Each coach is equipped with a Cummins QSK19 diesel engine producing at 1,800rpm, driving an electrical generator which powers two motors, each driving one (inner) axle per bogie via a cardan shaft and final drive. can be travelled between refuellings. The coach bodies, the engines and most of the equipment of the Class 221s are the same as the Class 220s, but the bogies are very different: the Class 220 Voyager B5000 bogies have inside-frames which expose the whole of the wheel faces, while the Class 221 SuperVoyager Y36 bogies have a more traditional outside-framed bogie. Unlike the Class 220s, the Class 221s were built with a hydraulic-actuated tilting system to run at high speed around bends, though this has now been disabled from the 24 sets operated by CrossCountry.
Each coach weighs between 55 and 57tonnes, with a total train weight of 281.9tonnes for a five-car set (227 tonnesfor a four-car set). The trains have air-operated (pneumatic) and rheostatic brakes, with an emergency stopping distance of at .
Class 221 units are fitted with automatic sanding systems. The Avanti West Coast operated units are fitted with a Vossloh fixed rate sander and the Arriva Cross Country operated units are fitted with AB Hoses and fittings variable rate sanding system.
All Class 221 units are maintained at the dedicated Central Rivers TMD near Burton-on-Trent.
Formation and passenger facilities
As part of a franchise commitment to replace all of the Mark 2 and High Speed Train sets, Virgin CrossCountry ordered 40 five-carriage sets. In addition four four-carriage sets were ordered to replace High Speed Trains on Virgin Trains' North Wales Coast Line services to Holyhead. However all entered service with Virgin CrossCountry.
In November 2010, Virgin Trains reformed its three four-car sets into two five-car sets and a residual spare two-car set by inserting the two intermediate (non-driving) cars from 221144 into 221142 and 221143, giving 20 five-car sets (and two spare driving cars). This was aimed at providing more flexibility and consistency in operating Birmingham-Scotland and London-North Wales services. In 2017, a further reformation took place, allowing 221144 to be returned to traffic with CrossCountry, now operated by Arriva, involving the exchange of some vehicles between Virgin and CrossCountry and the reduction of two CrossCountry sets to four car formations.
All vehicles are air-conditioned and fitted with Wi-Fi. On some units, the at-seat audio entertainment system is still present however it has now been disabled since the Wi-Fi hotspots were introduced. Power sockets are also available for laptop computers and mobile-phone charging. First-class accommodation has 2+1 seating, standard class 2+2 seating. Former Virgin Trains units are fitted with CCTV. These trains, unlike the older trains they replaced, have electronic information display boards in the exterior walls showing the train number, the time, the coach, the train's destination and the next station. This is also a feature of the and high speed DEMUs.
The trains have been criticised for providing insufficient space for luggage and bicycles. Also, because the units are designed to tilt, the carriages have a tapered profile that narrows towards roof level, resulting in a less spacious interior than the conventional carriages they replaced.
The formation and capacity of each unit depends on the operator.
Operations
All units are owned by Beacon Rail, after they were purchased from Voyager Rail Leasing, a consortium of Lloyds Banking Group and Angel Trains. They are leased to the train operating companies.
On their introduction in 2002, Virgin Trains was the operator of all Class 221s, which it used on CrossCountry and West Coast Main Line services as well as on the North Wales Coast line.