Avanti’s New Class 805 bi-mode units

You can support me over on
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Chris_Rail_Focus
Or by joining Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrffHlssphfdkzTkVfBdo5w/join

alternatively if you’d like to buy me a coffee you can do so on my Ko-Fi page: https://ko-fi.com/rail_focus

or by making a purchase on my Redbubble photography page: Prints, Mugs, T-shirts and much more:
https://www.redbubble.com/people/EngPhotography/explore?page=1&sortOrder=recent

Blog: https://engineeringfocusblog.blogspot.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/EngFocus
BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/railfocus.bsky.social
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/EngineeringFocus/
Instagram: www.instagram.com/engfocus

The first Class 805 entered service on Sunday the 2nd of June, in this video we take a look on board and ask an important question, are they better than Class 221 Super Voyagers?

#Class805 #Avanti #avantiwestcoast

Are Avanti’s brand new class 805 trains better than the 20-year-old class 221 Super Voyagers which Avanti currently operates To be honest that’s probably not a debate I’m going to settle with this video but my first impression is they’re certainly better than other class 800 derived trains that I’ve experienced the units will completely replace Voyages that Avanti West Coast uses on the Holyhead and Chester to London services and will finally put put an end to the practice of running diesel units under the wires from Crewe to London the class 805s like most other Intercity Express Trains are bi-mode meaning they have diesel engines underneath the carriages but they can also run on overhead 25kv lines were available with a switch over in this particular instance happening at Crewe The 805s have 3, V12 MTU engines underneath each of the trailer cars and I believe they have the same power rating as the Transpennine Express Class 802s and Class 810s being introduced by East Midlands Railway with each engine producing around 940bhp or 700kw despite having almost 3,000 brake horsepower on tap units much like other IETs are limited to running at 110mph when running on the engines but they can run at 125mph on electricfied lines technically they can operate at 140mph but this requires the use of ETCS which isn’t yet fitted to the West Coast Mainline these units will however be limited to operating at 110mph even when powered by the overhead lines this is due to a legacy speed limit in place on the West Coast Mainline for trains which do not tilt I believe Network Rail is looking at reversing this speed limit on straight sections of the West Coast Mainline but as yet no action has been taken to lift what is now an unnecessary speed limit albeit for the tightest curves wet tilt would still be required for passenger comfort despite being limited to 110 mph I don’t believe the journey time will be significantly longer as the units are able to accelerate much more quickly than voyagers or even Pendolinos for that matter I seem to recall someone telling me even when powered by the engines the Class 805s can still out accelerate Voyages to 50mph so little or no time will be lost on the North Wales Coast along which trains have to stop frequently [Music] Given the fact that the units are based on IETs I expect most people are eager for me to talk about the seats and I’m happy to report they are definitely more comfortable than those fitted to TPEs Class 802s and GWR’s 800’s I can’t really comment on the East Coast Class 800s as I haven’t ridden one but I suspect the seats on the 805s are much more comfortable that’s not to say that I think they’re anything special padding still seems to be a little bit on the firm side but the seating position definitely feels better than the seats fitted to TPE units there is ample leg room and the seats aren’t cantilevered so you can stretch them out a little bit under the seats in front each airline seat has a fold down and retractable table with a reading light just above the table charging facilities can be found underneath the seat in front with a single 3 pin socket and 2 USB ports the table seats have lots of provision for charging and even have wireless charging built in the tables seem to be reasonably big although I imagine if two people are facing each other then they wouldn’t both be able to use laptops at the same time the table seats seem to line up with the windows although some of the airline seats aren’t so well positioned there is a small first class area with two plus one seating as you expect the seats feature leather headrests or something similar to leather and the seats seem to have more padding than those in standard class in total there are 301 seats per five car set with 25 first class and 276 standard class seats cycle storage frustratingly takes the form of hooks which cyclists universally seem to hate and I can fully understand why and of course with space being limited you do have to book in advance like the voyages there’s a small onboard shop located in coach C which sells coffee sandwiches and snacks moving on to the ride it’s perhaps a little bit more harsh than a voyager but it seems more than fine on continuously welded rail with the engines switched on I think the 805s are a little bit quieter than 221s but the engines are certainly noticeable when the units are accelerating however the engines are only under the three middle carriages so obviously there’s no engine sound in the front driving vehicles When under the wires they are clearly a lot quiet than voyages and sound just like any other electric multiple unit being that they’re limited to 110 mph I guess the closest comparison would be to a Class 350 and I would say that the 805s definitely seem more refined when traveling at 110mph on the West Coast Mainline than the Class 350s One thing that people have criticised is the fact that the units are 5 cars but they are often coupled together at least from Chester and they are designed with portion working in mind with the set splitting at Chester with half continuing to Holyhead and depending on the time of day the other half head heading to Wrexham unfortunately my train was very late and ran from Llandudno Junction rather than Holyhead due to technical issues and the first off peak train was only five carriages because the other unit was locked out of use due to said technical problems this meant the remaining five cars were very busy on my run to Stafford the passenger announcements were not working nor were the seat reservations but these are just early teething problems which I’m sure will be sorted quickly overall I think the seats are okay perhaps not as comfortable as those fitted to voyages but certainly better than the seats fitted to other IETs I also think the lighting is a bit better and the units feel less cramped than Class 221s whether or not I think they’re a big step up from voyagers I’m not so sure but they are more environmentally friendly and quieter when running under wires which is key I think I’d have to experience the units from Chester all the way to London in order to really say whether or not I think they’re better or worse but early indications are they’re better overall