Why no tilt?
JACK Brereton, the Stoke-on-Trent South MP, wanted to know what information the Department of Transport (DfT) holds on any issues identified during the testing of new Hitachi AT300 rolling stock to replace‘Voyagers’on Avanti West Coast services, and whether an assessment was made of the potential effect of the lack of tilt mechanism for those trains on maintaining safe operation around bends at speed, journey times and rail timetables. The MP asked why the tender for the rolling stock replacement for‘Voyagers’on Avanti West Coast services did not specify the inclusion of a tilt mechanism.
Transport Minister Huw Merriman said:“The procurement, safety risk assessment, and safe operation of Hitachi AT300 rolling stock is the responsibility of the operator. When running rolling stock procurements, operators take account of factors such as what products are available to the market, reliability, operating cost, passenger capacity, comfort and environmental performance.