Chiltern plans longer trains

Using Class 68s will enable Chiltern Railways to operate longer trains, the company’s managing director Rob Brighouse has told RAIL.

He said the current fleet of Class 67s hired from DB Schenker were “at their limit” regarding what they could haul, and that a ‘68’ could haul more than that, suggesting that the trains could increase in length to perhaps eight Mk 3s.

He said the hiring of the ‘68s’ was about capacity, as they would enable Chiltern to improve the performance of trains through better acceleration.

• For more, see RAIL 761, published November 12.