Rolling stock • Block train • High speed train • Great-Britain • Virgin (†) • Class 390/0, 390/1 (Pendolino Alstom)

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Read the full package about Class 390 under Virgin era:

Virgin (†) → Class 390 → Train services → Economics

In brief

Background and development – The Virgin era

The Class 390 is a product of the 1996 railway privatisation. Private operator Virgin Rail Group started operating the InterCity West Coast franchise, taking over from state-owned operator British Rail. Virgin had been awarded the franchise having made a commitment to replace the British Railway’s locomotives and rolling stock in use on the route, namely the classes 86, 87 and 90 electric locomotives and Mark 2 and Mark 3 coaching stock. The qualitative leap was all the more essential that at the time of the award (with the contract signed for a 1997 start), Virgin was required to pay substantial premiums to the Office of Passenger Rail Franchising — around £1,237 million (a figure often quoted as being in the region of £1.2–£1.3 billion). It was therefore not feasible to continue with the ageing Mark III coaches, despite their generally good qualities. Moreover, Virgin genuinely appeared to want something more disruptive.

Virgin, which already had experience through its eponymous airline, wanted to bring concepts from aviation into the British railways. This guided the internal design office created in 1998, which drew up specifications for a fast, ‘walk‑on’ service between London and the major cities of Northern Britain. But unlike aviation, the train is always dependent on its infrastructure. At the time, Railtrack’s plans to upgrade the West Coast Main Line were faltering, subject to what was described as “the growth of realism” regarding the scale of the works and their costs. By 1999, Railtrack’s estimates for modernising the WCML infrastructure had almost tripled, rising from £2.1 billion to £5.8 billion. The moving‑block signalling technology, briefly considered and equivalent to ETCS Level 3, had fortunately just been abandoned.

Attracting investors and having to repay nearly £1.25 billion in premiums to the British government required a break with what had previously been done in British railways. The director at the time, Chris Green, did not hesitate to declare the need to “create a world‑class railway”, while criticising the former public operator: “British Rail would never have dreamed for a second of doubling its activity.” He nevertheless acknowledged the difficulty of transposing the airline model, even if “people also expect a service close to Virgin Atlantic.” Despite the ageing locomotive‑hauled stock at the start of the franchise, passenger numbers had meanwhile increased by 40% over the first three years, confirming the group’s chosen policy.

It was becoming clear that Railtrack would not succeed in raising line speeds as Virgin had initially wished. It is therefore Virgin that we have to thank for the creation of the Class 390 trains, a train that is unprecedented in Great Britain since the defunct APT of the 1970s.

To achieve the desired breakthrough and deliver notable improvements in journey times and comfort, Virgin envisaged 47 diagrams per day and reliability better than one incident every 50,000 miles (80,400 km), as well as driving quality 30% superior to a locomotive‑hauled train, and finally a maximum of 65 dB inside the trains. To compensate for Railtrack’s shortcomings, Virgin had to opt for a tilting train and began negotiations with several manufacturers. But who in Europe builds tilting trains and controls this technology?

Change in Industrial Culture
It was the Italian firm Fiat Ferroviaria that won the contract, just as the French company Alstom was preparing to take over the only enterprise in Europe building the ETR 450, ETR 460, ETR 500 as well as the S220 for Finland. A deal was struck with the ROSCO Angel Trains to acquire 57 trainsets, which were eventually ordered.

Alstom was confronted with something new: Virgin left the manufacturer to “sort it out” and deliver trainsets that would be operational every day, in line with the availability requirements set out in the contract. One Alstom executive pointed out that this was a complete break with the subcontracting culture long experienced with SNCF. The industry now had to “take the lead” and provide a top‑level train to clients who, like Virgin, did not come from the railway world.

The bodyshells and much of the equipment were manufactured in Italy, at Savigliano. Assembled at Washwood Heath (Birmingham), the Class 390s were the last rail product to be supplied from the former Metro-Cammell site in Birmingham, which was subsequently closed as part of Alstom’s rationalisation of its production facilities.

A completed train then made its first public run in February 2000 at the Old Dalby test track when 390001 in eightcar form was rolled out for invited guests. The train was commencing its shakedown trials at the former BR test track, which had been acquired and electrified by Alstom for the purpose. 390002 was completed shortly afterwards and after it had undergone some trials at Old Dalby was despatched to the Lake District for further evaluation.

By the end of April 2000 the first Pendolino, 390006 ‘Mission Possible‘, was at Euston where it was unveiled to the public in another high profile ceremony, but there was a sour note when it was confirmed there that the proposed 140mph running would no longer be on the cards as Railtrack had failed to deliver the promised track and signalling improvements.

In July 2000, a pre-series unit underwent intensive testing. A number of tests were carried out between Carnforth and Carlisle on a section of the line known as “Test Site A”. The line had been specially prepared for trials at Enhanced Permitted Speed. The tests generally took place on Saturday evenings and were sometimes combined with a Class 221 unit (221101), as available possession time on the WCML for testing was rather limited. Afterwards, several driver-training runs were also undertaken. The fleet entered service in mid-2002 to coincide with the opening of the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester. The tilt system was still inactive at that point.

The fleet was introduced into passenger services from Birmingham International to Manchester Piccadilly on 23 July 2002 to coincide with the opening of the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester. In 2004, the units began operating to Glasgow Central and, by the end of the summer, all services north of Preston were being worked by Class 390 sets, bringing to an end the locomotive-hauled services mentioned earlier. The British were taking a leap into modern train travel…

The fleet in two batches
At Alstom, the Pendolinos are part of its Avelia range, “a flexible and interoperable passenger rail solution, operating on conventional or high-speed lines at up to 250 km/h,” according to the company’s own publicity. It is therefore not, strictly speaking, a high-speed train — nor would that be of any use, since the lack of signalling upgrades on the WCML has meant the line’s maximum speed is limited to 225 km/h.

The original 53-unit Pendolino fleet was delivered in nine-car formation (although some units initially operated as eight-car units), with vehicles built at the former Metro-Cammell Washwood Heath plant (by then owned by Alstom), in Birmingham.

In 2008, the DfT’s strategy for the introduction of the additional capacity on the WCML was:

• to provide additional capacity through the purchase of new Class 390 Pendolino trains and the lengthening of part or all of the fleet to 11-cars;
• to deliver into operation the new rolling stock as early as possible in the life of the next WCML franchise (after March 2012), or earlier if WCTL or another train operating company agrees, in each case with the Secretary of State’s approval;
• to ensure essential depot and station infrastructure works are carried out in readiness for 11-car operations; and
• to make available to the WCML re-franchising process full disclosure concerning the integration risks and deliverability of the 11-car lengthening programme.

After careful consideration, four new units four additional trainsets were ordered and have been built with 11 cars in Savigliano, Italy, follow closure of Metro-Cammell, while 31 existing units lengthened to 11 cars. The entire fleet, which still includes 9-car trainsets, should therefore be distinguished since 2010 as follows:

• 22 Class 390/0 sets made up of 9 coaches;
• 35 Class 390/1 sets made up of 11 coaches.

Details can be found bellow:

The number of driven axles on a bogie is denoted by letter A: in the case of Class 390, bogie “1A” means that first axle is not driven, the second well (letter “A). Let’s take the example of a motorised carriage. We have 1A-A1, i.e. four axles which, from left to right, mean: the first axle is non-motorised (1), the second is motorised (A), the third is motorised (A) and the fourth is non-motorised (1), giving a total of two motors for this carriage. A 9-car Class 390/0 train therefore has 12 motorised axles, while the Class 390/1 has 14. Each motor has a power output of 460 kW.

The Tilt system
Class 390 Pendolinos were designed and wired for the Train Control System (TCS) to allow 140mph operation, on which Alstom worked with Railtrack at the Asfordby research facility in the East Midlands on a 12 mile (19km) TCS-equipped test track. The failure of Railtrack, subsequently replaced by the more government-influenced Network Rail, meant that total WCML upgrading would extend by up to five years; moreover, the projected signalling system was a casualty of cost escalation and the route maximum became 125mph (201km/h), explained Railway Technology.

The train’s tilting system relies on several coordinated components to ensure safe and efficient operation. Sensor Unit Tilt (SUT) devices, mounted on leading bogies, use gyroscopes and accelerometers to measure tilt and lateral acceleration, while also tracking distance between balises. This data is sent to the Train Tilting Processor (TTP), which acts as the master processor in the active driving cab. The TTP integrates information from TASS balises on tilt authority and speed profiles with SUT inputs on speed, cant angle, and distance travelled. It then calculates the required tilt angle for each car and distributes commands to Vehicle Tilting Processors (VTPs).

Driver Units (DRUs) receive instructions from VTPs, activating bogie actuators to tilt bolsters accordingly. They also monitor electro‑mechanical safety and return feedback. On pantograph vehicles, Driver Unit Pantographs (DRUPs) perform similar functions for pantograph tilt. Bogie actuators, powered by AC servomotors and planetary screw drives, adjust tilt angles, reverting to a self‑centred position if power is lost. The tilting pantograph, mounted on a cradle, uses a belt‑driven actuator to align correctly, with automatic drop and passive centring if misaligned.

This short video below perfectly demonstrates why the tilt was so necessary.

Fleet formation under Virgin era

The Pendolino incorporates numerous passenger-focused amenities and technological innovations. Instead of a traditional buffet or restaurant car, it includes a walk-in shop, and it features extensive passenger visual information systems both inside the carriage ends and on the exterior doors. To address complaints about earlier pressure-operated gangway doors on Mark 3 and Mark 4 stock—which could be held open by luggage—the Pendolino uses push-button doors, improving comfort by preventing unwanted draughts. For easier boarding, the exterior doors deploy folding steps at stations.

The trains originally offered an integrated entertainment system at every seat, providing radio channels, including BBC stations and Virgin Radio, along with pre-recorded music. Listings booklets were available, and headphones could be purchased on board. This system was replaced in 2010 with T-Mobile Wi-Fi. First-class seats also include 240-volt power sockets.

An electronic seat-reservation system uses a small dot-matrix LCD above each seat to display reservation details, such as origin stations or passenger names. These displays are managed by the Train Management System, which updates information via Vodafone’s network and also drives the wider passenger information systems, ensuring rapid updates when train schedules change.

One negative point, which is common to all trains built since the late 1990s in Europe, is the single-strcture carriage design, with the same number of windows regardless of class. Inevitably, the “Standard” class will have a seating arrangement that does not align with the windows, which attracs criticism for long time. Manufacturers invariably respond that a class-based structure would lead to higher prices due to the need for dual car designs.

The Class 390 trains delivered in 2010 had the following configuration, taking into account the British code assigned to each type of carriage:

Standard
Standard class (formerly second class) traditionally has seats arranged in a 2+2 configuration, with a central aisle.

DMSO – This coach can carry between 46 passengers.

MS – This coach can carry 62 passengers and has a toilet and space for passengers with reduced mobility.

PTSRMB – This coach can carry 46 passengers and just under half of its floor space is taken up by the ‘bar/shop’. This is actually a drinks and newspaper vending machine.

MF – This coach can carry 46 passengers with traditionnal 2+1 seat arrangement for first class.

PTF – This coach can carry 44 passengers with traditionnal 2+1 seat arrangement for first class. This car have one of the two pantograph, as shown bellow.

DMRF – Probably the carriage with the fewest seats. This makes sense: as a First Class carriage, it only has 18 seats, and most of the carriage is reserved for staff and for driver cabin.

Maintenance under Virgin era

Given that Alstom and Fiat have assumed the risk of bringing the new trains into service, as well as their subsequent maintenance and that of the rolling stock they will replace. Maintenance has in turn been subcontracted to West Coast Traincare, so as to keep depot access agreements – which fall within the jurisdiction of the Office of the Rail Regulator – separate from the train service provision contract. On February 20 1999 West Coast Traincare began operations, taking on six depots formerly managed by Virgin Trains and their 650 staff. One of the tasks which West Coast Traincare set for the first year was the rebranding of these maintenance facilities as Traincare Centres, which Managing Director Ron Temple describes as ’an important tool in changing people’s approach’.

Alstom managed for Virgin a network of specialised depots valued at £23 million, centred on the primary facility at Manchester Longsight. Additional satellite sites in Glasgow, Wolverhampton, Wembley and Liverpool provide further capacity and geographic coverage.

To ensure operational flexibility, particularly when trains need to be moved away from electrified sections or in the event of technical failures, Virgin also deploys a fleet of Class 57 locomotives. These engines are equipped with retractable Dellner couplings that allow them to haul both Class 390 Pendolino units and Class 221 Super Voyagers when necessary.

Alstom invested in the depot infrastructure as well. £3.7 million was spent on new lifting equipment from Mechan, improved staff facilities and enhanced in-house workshops which were built by Cairns Cross Civil Engineering. In addition, as the trains are now being lengthened to 11 cars, £20 million was spent on extending the depot buildings.

Although the Pendolino fleet initially faced technical challenges and attracted criticism related to interior space and ticket pricing, overall reliability has steadily improved. As a result, Virgin has seen continued growth in passenger numbers across its West Coast network.

In 2007, Virgin required a total of 46 fully serviceable trainsets each day to reliably operate its services along the West Coast Main Line. Each train covers 1,600 kilometres a day, meaning that the fleet travels 27 million kilometres each year. There are different levels of maintenance:

• H1 at 1.2 million kilometres
• H2 at 2.56 million kilometres
• H3 at 4.0 million kilometres

2010-2012

H3 is a particularly heavy overhaul, with 27,764 components being changed on each train. The normal service requirement hasn’t changed either, with 11 trains in the traincare centre every night. In order to cope, an extra 120 people were taken on and trained up for H3, creating a new pool of highly skilled workers. Tt takes two weeks to complete an overhaul.

In addtion, the H3 overhaul coincided with the convertion of 31 9-car sets to 11-car to form Class 390/1 (see table above). So the updates could be done at the same time. The additional four sets built in Italy would also allow for the two trains being overhauled to be out of service without affecting the diagram of the fleet.

Bogie
As part of the H3 overhaul, each train’s bogies undergo a C4 overhaul—a term that, like much railway jargon, sounds mysterious. Essentially, it’s a scheduled refurbishment, usually based on mileage, replacing or overhauling wheels, bogies, brake gear, and related components, as agreed with the train leasing company.

A nine-car train has 18 bogies, which are removed and replaced with pre-prepared spares for rapid turnaround. The first train used 18 bogies from stock, and once the last train is completed, the refurbished bogies will return to the stores. The programme aims to refurbish 18 bogies every week.

Removed bogies go to Longsight’s bogie workshop, where bolsters are separated, and components are cleaned of dirt and oil. Wheelsets are sent to nearby manufacturer Lucchini in Trafford Park for stripping, overhauling, and rebuilding, including wheel pan replacement, gearbox overhaul, and conditional replacement of brake discs and axles. Meanwhile, at Longsight, brake callipers, yaw dampers, axle guides, and other components are refurbished.

The tilting mechanism, essential for Pendolinos, is also serviced. A mechanical system under the bogie moves the bolster via a tie-rod, guided by small wheels in a curved rail with a vertical lock.

Once all parts are rebuilt and wheelsets reinstalled, the bogie and bolster are reunited and carefully balanced. Ensuring equal “corner weights” on each wheel is critical, requiring precise adjustment. With 18 bogies refurbished weekly, the team averages rebuilding more than three per day—a complex but efficiently orchestrated operation.

Twin-track trains
Over a two-week H3 service cycle, an 11-car train undergoes a comprehensive mechanical and electrical overhaul. The process begins late Saturday when a 9-car set arrives at Longsight. On Sunday, toilets and water tanks are removed, and on Monday the train moves to road 11 where First and Standard Class sections are separated. The First Class portion is taken out while the Standard Class section receives new air and brake equipment, which is then sent to Knorr-Bremse for overhaul.

On Tuesday, technicians remove and replace the inter-car couplers on the Standard Class half-rake, then reform the rake. Wednesday repeats this process for the First Class portion: HVAC units are removed for refurbishment in Manchester and replaced with overhauled units, while air and brake systems are renewed. New couplers are fitted on Thursday, and by Friday both rakes are reassembled with two new carriages added to create the full 11-car formation.

Week two begins on Sunday with the train moved to road 12 for bogie and cardan shaft disconnection. Monday sees the bogies exchanged, with the train lifted to slide the old bogies out while leaving the new-car bogies in place. Wiper motors are also replaced for rebuilding at Oxley. Tuesday focuses on electrical work: pantograph tilt mechanisms, Lucifer solenoid valves, and other components are renewed, and inter-vehicle jumpers reconnected. Notably, the original LPA power jumper cables remain in service after 2.5 million miles, supplemented only by additional jumpers for modern systems.

By Wednesday, static testing begins, followed by further checks and a dynamic test run on Sunday. The completed set then transfers to Liverpool as the next train arrives for overhaul.

2015-2016

Alstom has in 2016 completed the fourth refurbishment work (H4) on the Pendolino fleet used by Virgin on the West Coast Main Line. Alstom has built a brand new bogie overhaul facility at its Manchester site to carry out this work, which has dramatically reduced the time it takes to overhaul each train. The facility makes it possible to overhaul an entire set of bogies for either a nine-car (18 bogies) or eleven-car (22 bogies) vehicle in just five days. Altogether, the bogies of 26 vehicles can now be overhauled within one week. This has helped Alstom to reduce the total time it takes to overhaul each train to seven days. As well as the Class 390 trains, the facility can accommodate Class 334s, 175s and 180s, as well as other manufacturers trains. 

The fleet comprises 574 cars, 3629 interior and exterior doors, and 1148 bogies, which have now been completely overhauled. During this process, the bogies were washed and stripped, with wheelsets, gearboxes, drop links, yaw dampers and other associated components exchanged. In addition, 4,100 modules were tested and 2.3 million consumables were replaced.

Alstom started in 2017 to work on the 28 million contract to re-paint the 56-strong fleet of Class 390/0 and 390/1 trainsets. The Widnes plant, between Manchester and Liverpool, has over 13,000 square metres of space and has been dedicated to completely repainting Virgin’s entire fleet. Industry 4.0 features of the contract included innovative Virtual Reality painting simulators that the team was trained on and used to validate the work. The repainting team was 80-strong and includes five new apprentices who worked on the project, demonstrating Alstoms commitment to developing skills locally. 🟧

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