Sunday 11th September 2005
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The Electrostar leaving the Quarry Tunnel, Merstham |
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| Photograph: Sue Austen |
September 2005 |
| A double dose of history was made by Croydon-based rail operators,
Southern on Sunday. The company laid on a special speed run from London Bridge to Brighton which produced the fastest journey time between the two cities - 36 mins 56 secs - and marked the official end of slam door trains on its services in London, including Croydon and Sutton, and the south coast. Hundreds of pounds were also raised by guests on the train for the
Railway Children charity, which supports homeless and abandoned children all over the world, particularly those living around stations and also victims of the
London bombings. Driver, Peter Mantell, based in Brighton and driving one of Southern's prestigious fleet of high-tech Electrostar trains, managed to lop almost a minute off the previous record run. The train reached East Croydon in around ten minutes, three minutes faster than scheduled best time, and hit 100mph for the first time in the Merstham tunnel just south of Coulsdon, a speed it maintained for much of the rest of the journey. A delighted Mr Mantell said at Brighton said: "There were one or two  hairy moments on the way and as we pulled into Brighton I was very nervous about whether we had beaten the record." Slam door trains have been a feature of rail services in the area for more than 40 years but Southern has been committed to finish the phasing out programme started by its predecessor, Connex, this year. An original deadline was set for January by the Strategic Rail Authority but because of
problems in upgrading electricity supplies this was extended to November. The computer technology on board means a higher voltage is needed run the Electrostars and new electricity sub-stations to boost power have had to be provided at various trackside locations. Charles Horton, managing director of Southern, said: "We had always hoped to finish the programme by the end of August so we are delighted to have reached the target ahead of the November deadline. "We are now in the position we want to be in running the franchise and we are very proud of what we have achieved." A total of 182 Electrostar three and four carriage trains have now been introduced across Southern's network at a cost of £856m. The new sliding door trains are fully air-conditioned, have double-glazed windows to reduce noise, on-board information systems, wider seats and toilets designed to provide disabled access. Six slam door trains are being kept at Southern's Brighton depot to cope with any emergencies.
- Ian Austen |
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