UK: TransPennine Express has ceased the overnight servicing of its Nova 3 push-pull trainsets at Scarborough depot, following repeated complaints from nearby residents about the noise created by the Class 68 locomotives.
People living near the £7m facility which opened in 2019, were particularly concerned about the noise in the early hours when testing requires the ETH supply to the five-coach MkVa sets to be active.
With the coaches drawing around 300 kW, the idling speed of the Class 68 engine increases from 600 to 1 150 rev/min. Given the set-up of the exhaust and silencer equipment used to ensure the engines meet EU Stage IIIB emissions limits, this results in a significant increase in volume.
Fences were provided to protect nearby houses from depot noise as part of its construction. However, after repeated representations from local councillors the operator informed the council that it would cease overnight servicing of the Nova 3 sets from August 16, with the work to be carried out at Longsight depot in Manchester. TPE confirmed that Scarborough depot would only be used between the hours of 23.00 and 07.00 in ‘exceptional circumstances’.
Speaking to Rail Business UK, TPE Managing Director Matthew Golton said ‘it is not the case that we have abandoned the depot. However, we have responded and changed the method of operation as it’s the right thing to do’.
Fleet Director Paul Staples told local press that ‘working with the local council, we’ve now introduced some operational changes to the way we use our trains at Scarborough, to reduce the level of noise experienced by residents living close to our depot. Lots of hard work has gone into making the changes, which will mean some trains in Scarborough will no longer stay at the depot for maintenance overnight.’
He said ‘the depot remains an important facility for us, which provides jobs for local people. Crucially, the changes we have made allow us to continue operating our Nova 3 trains in and out of the town’.
As a short-term work-around, overnight servicing and cleaning is being carried out by TPE’s contractors at Scarborough station.
TPE is expected to announce a change to its plans for the deployment of the Nova 3 sets shortly, as part of a re-think which will enable it to get the full fleet of 13 sets into service. Currently only four daily diagrams are being worked by the trains, with the majority shuttling between Scarborough and York where they connect into other TPE services.
TPE’s intentions to see Scarborough depot working as planned could see Class 185 DMUs being used more extensively on services to the town. These would create much less noise when running overnight or started up in the early hours.
