The 'Class 220 Voyager' is a class of diesel-electric high-speed multiple-unit trains built by Bombardier Transportation for the British train operating company Virgin CrossCountry. They are the mainstay of those long-distance trains in Britain that do not terminate in London (although they are also used for services between Holyhead and London Euston). They are air-conditioned throughout, with powered doors and a top speed of 125 mph. They were introduced to replace the thirty-year-old High Speed Train and Class 47 fleets.
Like many high speed Multiple unit trains, Voyagers have no end-gangways. Therefore passengers and staff can walk between carriages of the unit in which they are riding, but they cannot walk between units. Therefore when operating in multiple, each unit requires its own catering staff.
Voyagers make use of Rheostatic brakes. This system, uncommon in the UK up until recently, brakes the train by using the motors of the train in reverse to generate electricity which is then dissipated as heat through resistors situated on the roof of each coach. This slows the train and saves on brake shoe wear.
The Voyagers share the same type of couplers as the Class 390 '''Pendolino''' electric units used by Virgin's West Coast trains, and they can be coupled together in the event of a failure, although as the electrical systems are not compatible they are not coupled in normal service. They can also be 'dragged' by Virgin's Thunderbirds, humorously named after the eponymous TV series, which are Class 57/3 „Ronnies“.
The principal differences between the Voyager and Super Voyager fleet are that the Super Voyager usually consists of five carriages rather than the Voyager's four, and like the Pendolino can tilt when going around curves in order to allow higher speeds. This means that Super Voyager units have significantly more complex bogies than do Voyagers.
Both models are powered by Cummins QSK19 engines, with each carriage featuring its own engine.
Midland Mainline's new Meridian trains are closely related to the Voyager fleet, although they have a revised front end and are, according to Bombardier Transportation, '80% new train'.
Criticism
As it is the case with any new technology, Voyagers have suffered a few teething problems. In 2002 the entire fleet was banned from travelling south of Exeter along the Dawlish Sea Wall during rough seas as salt spray caused several breakdowns [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/devon/4491064.stm][http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2494379.stm]. Despite modifications at least one Voyager has broken down due to salt spray on the wall every winter since. Voyagers have also suffered from engine problems in recent months. However many of the engine problems have now been resolved.
A recent Voyager fire in the South West was caused by the train's use of Rheostatic brakes. These resistors are known to reach temperatures of up to 500° C. A small piece of wood from a tree became lodged in these grids, which then started a fire on the roof with the train. This resulted in the train being evacuated at Cheltenham Spadate=February 2007.
Although Voyagers are considerably shorter than their predecessors (4 or 5 cars compared to 7 previously), proponents of the units counter by pointing to the increased frequencies at which the trains operate. Therefore overall capacity is said to be at least equal to, or in some cases greater than, the trains they replaced. However, critics have noted that in areas where frequencies have not increased (such as at the extremes of the network), or in areas where trains carry large amounts of commuter or holiday traffic (such as on services leaving large cities during the evening peak or summer services to the southwest), Voyagers struggle to cope with these loadings; they also have very little space suitable for large suitcases, which also causes problems on trains filled with holidaymakers. Virgin have also leased in longer trains from other operators during the Summer period to operate services to Devon and Cornwall. Ironically, these are usually the High Speed Train sets that the Voyagers displaced.
Other criticisms have centred on the aircraft style vacuum-flush toilets, which were found to easily block and — because of the sealed air conditioning and ventilation system — to let toilet odours permeate throughout the train. The problem has also afflicted the Pendolino fleet, and although Virgin have experimented with various fixes, a definitive cure to the problem has yet to be found.
Some point out that the passenger saloons of the Voyager units suffer from increased noise and vibration when compared to the non-powered Mark 2 and Mark 3 coaching stock they replaced, due to the underslung diesel engines. Critics include Christopher Garnett, former Chief Exectutive of rival operator Great North Eastern Railway who considered them „cheap and nasty“ [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20040112/ai_n9686062].
Another issue is that the electric interior doors close on a timer and do not have movement sensors to detect if a passenger happens to be walking through them or not. This often results on doors closing on passengers, unless the 'open' button is pressed again quickly.
