UK government to pay rail operators to convert first class cars to standard

As someone who uses the British train system pretty often, it saddens me that yet again the underlying issues are not being resolved and the short term fix is being taken - Alternatively the British government could deal with the way they manage and procure rolling stock which is the real issue here.

The amount of interference the government make in prospective train orders is to blame for some of the crazy amounts of overcrowding there are, since there has been several occasions when operators have sought to order a certain number of trains with a certain number of carriages, and the government has cut the order saying it is unnecessary, and then wonders why a few years down the same lines are overcrowded, this has happened several times both under the department of transport and it's predecessors.

In this particular case, the problem is related to the seven car intercity sets operating on Intercity routes into Paddington. Increasing demand and large increases in commuters in Reading has led to increase demand. FGW actually refitted all their HSTS a few years back with higher density seating and less tables to increase capacity, and in the last 12 months or so have converted some ex buffet cars into standard class accommodation to boost trains to eight carriage formations (a small number were already). Both of those were short term fixes, and ripping out a first class carriage on HSTS to put another standard in is yet another short term fix, but as an operator, the companies have little or no choice since it's pretty much that or nothing.

There are some peak time DMUS running between Reading and London with three carriages, people ask why can they not be strengthened, well that is all they have, if they don't run those it's nothing, and if they want to pair it up with another unit that means a service cancelled somewhere = No win. To try and ease the commuter issues at Reading there was supposed to be some small DMU order to boost capacity, which was announced, and later scrapped by the department when electrification was announced,in favour of cascading stock in the future when the Thameslink (which itself is heavily delayed) rolling stock arrives.

The long term fix is new and additional rolling stock that has better use of space by not having a locomotive each end meaning more seating capacity in the same length train. But the problem is, the procurement for the rolling stock, directly managed by the government is a long way behind schedule. The tender was started in 2005, the preferred bidder was announced in 2009, and the order (596 coaches) was finally placed in July 2012 and the trains will not enter service until 2016 at the earliest. It is a similar issue with Thameslink (1140 coaches), that is also running years behind schedule and a similarly long drawn out tender process.

The trouble is at the moment, that pretty much all the stock in the UK is in use, operators who have been able to order stock in the past have not been able to order the numbers that they wanted, the huge rolling stock orders that have been delayed so the overcrowding is the result. Now at least the orders have been placed even if they are a few years off actually arriving. But it's not just the operators who are getting the new rolling stock who will benefit, there is expected to be hundreds of vehicles being cascaded to other operators as well as some older trains being retired, and this is the only thing that is going to sort the rolling stock issues out. I'm sure operators will be like a kid at Christmas when that does happen, since everyone is stuck in the same boat until they do.