The first TfW Class 67 Mk4s to Manchester Piccadilly 09/01/2023

On the 9th of January 2023, Transport for Wales began operation of 4 car Mk4 rakes hauled by Class 67s on the Cardiff Central to Manchester Piccadilly route. The introduction of these services facilitated by Grand Central no longer needing these sets for their failed service from London to Blackpool.
Currently the service sees two returns from Manchester to Cardiff per day, but eventually every other service on this route (every two hours) will be swapped from a DMU to the loco hauled sets. This will happen in due course as more sets are accepted into TfW service, and more staff are trained on these trains.
I have included films of all 4 runs, including the early morning first departure, with the train having come from Crewe C.S. in the early hours. Also included is one of the existing Holyhead services, which have had these trains since 2020.
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Intro Music:
Prelude (VIP edit) TheFatRat & JJD
• TheFatRat & JJD - Prel...

[@curlew1000]

Good to see real trains with quality rolling stock.

[@bfapple]

I mean, the Class 170s that these are replacing are not awful.

[@bfapple]

@@soulman3590 why does appearance make a vehicle “not real”?

[@bfapple]

@@soulman3590 I work on 37s and 56s as a day job. I still don’t know what you mean.

[@geoffcorker6882]

@@soulman3590 Class 70s are the ugliest among many.....it would never get past the BR Design Panel😝

[@edwardrussellduff3076]

​@@soulman3590 but

[@grangetowncardiff6935]

I loves these, I does. Use them a lot I does. Cardiff boy here. Seriously, fabulous trains. Pip Pip.

[@greatbeccarailways]

I love these sets!

[@stevieb5436]

Good to see some qualiy loco stock runnning these routes, i remember catching loads of Class 33's on these routes many moons ago, good days :)

[@Nate0493]

Nice to see loco hauled trains being used again, same story with the TPE nova 3 sets being hauled by 68s

[@TheBrickGuy7939]

Our top story today, it appears witnesses described seeing a passenger train being hauled by a locomotive.

[@justinobrien3593]

can't beat a bit the push and pull services i always watch the 68s on the TP Expresses screaming through Ashton-under-Lyne them 68s thrash well they sound good!!!

[@breeze1472]

Loving the black livery

[@train4905]

Exellent😊

[@Northernlightshow]

This must be Britain’s cleanest train!

[@NaenaeGaming]

Interesting how they’ve removed the orange striping, now instead of Grand Central’s current livery, it just looks like Grand Central’s pre-2010 livery…

[@NiceDiscotheque]

This service visually illustrates the problems associated with a rail company that suffers from a combination of all the inefficiencies of a nationalised system with all the negative constraints of the privatised rail operator.

[@MrBnsftrain]

I'm glad they actually repainted the mk4s in something other than the modified Virgin livery. Hopefully, the class 67s will get matching paint soon.

[@Furnessvale1]

Four coaches. Take off a full first class coach, then half a coach buffet leaves 2.5 standard class coaches. Is that an improvement on the 2 x 2 coach DMUs they replace?

[@jameshennighan8193]

In terms of passenger seating comfort it is surely a clear improvement. Entrance doors away from the passenger compartment itself, so quieter too.

[@petergilbert72]

The DMUs were two or three cars. But I agree, they surely need to add a coach to each train as they become available and as ridership increases. I always use these trains to Bangor and they are beautifully quiet, plush and have on board screens showing connections at next station and news headlines from Wales. Well done TfW and the Welsh Government which is really pushing the buttons on public transport

[@jameshennighan8193]

@Chiltern Transport Productions Yep, I agree.....lets hope so, and that they enjoy continuing success.

[@emjackson2289]

That 67 turning up will scare small children . . . .

[@OfficialGTV]

It’s nice to see the Premiere Express has a second route now Cardiff Central Holyhead And now Cardiff Central Manchester Piccadilly

[@gamingvoid09]

I think they are planning to run a route between Cardiff Central and Liverpool Lime St, however I'm not sure if they're going to use 67s and Mk 4's or just use Class 197's.

[@OfficialGTV]

@@gamingvoid09 They might use 67s cause they suit Cardiff Central to around the Shrewsbury or Chester area and I've only seen 197s run like Shrewsbury > Holyhead/Chester routes

[@duainesimpson274]

Rolling stock rainbows 🌈 Awesome 🇬🇧😆

[@arwelp]

Nice, but when I was travelling from Piccadilly last Saturday, TfW had a pair of 153s on the Cardiff run :(

[@justinobrien3593]

is this a regular service as I like class 67s I will go and have a look at man piccadilly as its always nice to see loco hauled services instead of solid shit dmu's everywhere!!! Nice video 😍

[@justinnorman1836]

Does anyone have any info on the present loco/Dvt numbers for tfw? Ta 👍

[@DavidPeacock1972]

Well they look a bit special don't they. Loving the all over black livery.

[@athavanainkaran2499]

Why the Grand Central Trains has been cancelled from London Euston to Blackpool North?

[@georgedowns4034]

They blame it on pandemic or more specifically the government's choice to lock everyone down but I don't see why I can't come back ever

[@jameshennighan8193]

CANCELLATION OF GRAND CENTRAL'S BLACKPOOL - EUSTON SERVICE Grand Central was not permitted to run by the Department of Transport / Rail Regulators because it would be too much competition for the existing operator on the West Coast Route. In Department of Transport / Rail Regulator speak this means they would take some of the income from these operators. Poor Lambs...! Much of this way of thinking goes back to privatisation and the manner in which it was set up. Previous operators wishing to run Blackpool - Euston trains were similarly blocked to favour Virgin who were running the West Coast Franchise, (the first major privatisation service). Virgin always objected to any competition, and since at the time' they were the 'darlings' of the Government, they were always 'protected'..... Virgin placed similar objections in the way of the Wrexham & Shropshire to London operator. The refusal to Grand Central to allow them to run their Blackpool - Euston service serves as a classic example of how the Privatisation Shenanigans works. Competition would work for the benefit of the passenger.....but it is not to be allowed for Grand Central with their planned Blackpool - Euston service...! Talk about stacking the deck..... Incidentally, Grand Central's services on the Eastern side of the Country, (East Coast, (one from the north-east and the other from Bradford, via Halifax, Wakefield and Doncaster), are superb. In the case of the Bradford service it picks up across West Yorkshire and then runs non-stop to Kings +......so no need for the tediousness of having to travel through Leeds. In the case of the former, their non-stop run from York to Kings+ cannot be bettered. Four trains each way...with the fast-running, super Adelante Units, (West Yorkshire), and a mix of Adelantes and HST's from Teeside, (via Northallerton and York). Terrific service and friendly, professional staff on board.... James Hennighan Yorkshire, England P.S. The services run by Grand Central and a number of other companies, are not 'long-term' franchises as such; they are Limited Service Operators, who are allowed a limited number of train paths along some or part of the routes of the main franchise holders. Franchises were set up to have potential Train Operating Companies, (TOC's), bidding for the franchises. This was how Privatisation designed and the method by which the money was to roll in to Government. A fairer system would be to let Limited Service Operators run 50% of all train services. This would be fair competition and the passenger would obviously be given the best options as Franchise Operators competed with Limited Service Operators. Competition and winning over the passenger was what Privatisation was supposed to be about...!

[@bfapple]

@@jameshennighan8193Pal, the Euston-Blackpool service was approved and all ready to run. They were in the process of staff training when Covid hit. It was Arriva’s decision to scrap the service.

[@jameshennighan8193]

@@bfapple My comments were to cover the history and background to running Blackpool - Euston services that were not part of the West Coast Franchise, where there has been consistent opposition and objection from West Coast operators. This does go back to when Virgin had the West Coast Franchise, when they objected. This cannot be put down to Covid alone, and if it does it says more about current TOC's than we ever imagined, where they clearly failed to push-back against Government edicts concerning travel. That TOC's.....and also Passenger Transport Executives, (Bus Companies), rolled over so easily is one of those strange conundrums that will astonish future historians. Whilst there was clearly a slow take up to travelling again after the idiocy of the lockdown and transport restrictions, any enlightened management would, (and should), have recognised that more people would eventually start to travel. In this sense, the vehicles and mechanisms for attracting passengers back onto trains existed in terms of attractive and convenient service patterns....and reduced fare options.....if management wanted to launch the service. Unfortunately this was not done and the TOC's simply started to run trains again in the expectation that they would be filled. Such 'ticket offers' as existed to attract passengers back to the trains....across the nation as a whole.....were more limited in scope than they needed to be, and also limited in period of time availability. It follows that they were poorly advertised, which resulted in many of them having been discontinued by the time most people found out about them. Clearly the decision not to launch the Blackpool - Euston service indicates that management took the path of least resistance, and not that of enlightened thinking where they were prepared to place their faith in the product. James Hennighan Yorkshire, England

[@bfapple]

@@jameshennighan8193 I was responding to your original comment where you stated that Grand Central’s Blackpool-London services had been blocked. Factually incorrect.

[@Sarahbryson321]

Oh my

[@leswall3061]

Wonder if it's the freight train drivers driving the trains or TfW driver's trained to drive them?

[@robbiecarr2049]

Tfw drivers drive them my friend is a driver he loves driving the loco service

[@leswall3061]

Can't beat real trains

[@owenchuarbx]

ah nice, ex grand central mk 4s

[@fatcharliethearchangel5122]

That's a really big-ass overpowered loco for such a titchy little train. It's like someone went looking for the largest redundant locos available and found a fleet of 67's doing sweet fanny anne. They're probably capable of hauling about 34 carriages plus the dmv. Now that would be a train....lol

[@yuko147]

oh the ex ground central mk4s

[@andyjt2365]

A loco hauled train might look good, and is certainly a big improvement on a 150 or 2 x 153's for the passengers, but these loco's are gruesome to work on, the cabs are awful, noisy, uncomfortable, no air con, so unbearable in hot weather, and the ride quality is abysmal, i speak from very bitter experience! I wonder how long it will be before the noise complaints start rolling in about the loco's blasting the ears off everyone on the platforms at MP? Go to the other end and onto the DVT, and it's a different world 😌

[@XDFcooler]

This is a nice train, not like those ugly Azuma's!

[@ar4498]

How often do these run?

[@chriso8485]

Not sure why Manchester gets the 67s and MK4s and from New St Brummies have to put up with second rate Turbostars

[@bfapple]

170s are perfectly adequate. Some say better than the Voyagers.

[@chriso8485]

@@bfapple Yes but there are never enough carriages because it would mean joining two 170s together. Brum to Cardiff, Nottingham and Leicester are always rammed as a result. Major UK City to city should be Loco Hauled. Its prestigious and spacious

[@bfapple]

@@chriso8485 there’s not enough locomotives or LHCS carriages for your fantasy, either.

[@chriso8485]

@@bfapple Where are all the MK4s from the east coast? Plenty of Class 67s available for work.

[@bfapple]

@@chriso8485 Virtually all of the remaining ones are with LNER or TfW. Either way it’s not going to happen, CrossCountry got rid of LHCS as soon as they could in the 00s. It only made sense for TfW to take on more Mk4s because they already had some - and EMR needed the 170s desperately.

[@A-Trainspotter-From-Berkshire]

They should replace the 67's with a bi-mode loco then you have an even better train.

[@declangaming24]

We don't want IETS everywhere 67s can go 125MPH not every line is electrified a DVT and a 67 work good.

[@jethromaris624]

@@declangaming24 class 88 are solid bi mode locos, I dont see much of a downside in comparison. They can only do 100mph but that's the same speed as 175.

[@A-Trainspotter-From-Berkshire]

@@declangaming24 Well it could be a class 88 or class 93 for example and you can't get above 110mph on the WCML anyway and the better acceleration of the electric will counteract the slower top speed of the loco.

[@Trainman10715]

@@jethromaris624 no theyre not, their diesel engines are intended only for low speed shunting/light loco movements. they have less than 1000 horsepower on diesel and would be horrificly slow away from the wires, their top speed would be a far cry from 100

[@hypotheticlz]

Why is everyone so desperate to stick bi modes everywhere. Thousands of trucks and cars travel on roads every minute, a few diesel trains is not going to hurt anyone. If they weren’t being used on this route, they’d just be stuck on a freight line anyways, so why does it matter

[@AA-hg5fk]

This isn't a troll post, why on earth do people get excited about such trains? To me it is just a train, nothing interesting about it. If it was a bullet train I could understand a bit of hype, but it isn't, its just another train that's going to be late, expensive and overcrowded.

[@lowiepete]

Trying to read justified all-caps on a movie? It's a turn-off from me. Too much like hard work because though I do want to know what I'm watching, loose lower case is so much easier to read.

[@georgedowns4034]

U wat?

[@jameshennighan8193]

Lower case easier to read....? What the Fajitas....? The captions are only on for the obvious briefest moment. If such as this 'turns you off', (your words), then you really do need to get a life...

[@lowiepete]

@@jameshennighan8193 You said it yourself - the briefest moment. That utterly defeats the point of captioning. Oh, and I already have a life where I care about small matters like accessibility, thanks. Usually, getting personal like that means you have already lost your argument.

[@LokiAvivson]

A Class 68 would've been better than a Class 67

[@declangaming24]

67 have been 125MPH capability and good acceleration.

[@Class777]

@@declangaming24 agreed

[@NorthWestRailways]

a class 37 would be better than a class 67 😉

[@declangaming24]

@@NorthWestRailways would it though 37s are older, slower but have great sounds 67s faster, good acceleration, OK breaks the only advantage it has over a 67 is the versatility of Dutys it can do RHTT, Scrap moves, towing ect

[@LokiAvivson]

@@declangaming24 the max speed on most transport for wales routes is 100mph. class 68s also have a top speed of 100mph

[@train4905]

Exellent😊