(Yesterday, 9:18 pm)Storx wrote Yeah agreed, to be honest, I always think the Class 350 conversion to BEMU never happened. They're decent trains and 26 of them are sitting around doing nothing right now. Would've been ideal for the Ashington and Morpeth lines aswell and a massive upgrade since they're actually decent trains and only 16 year old aswell. They imo have a lot of life in them unlike ex District trains and Class 319's which were battered.

Sadly there is a real chance that the Porterbrook Class 350/2s could be scrapped, and potentially with batteries fitter be an ideal unit to supplement the North of Tyne heavy rail services. Potentially with batteries, with very short sections of overhead line could be fitted at locations like Ashington (hopefully eventually Newbiggin) and Hexham as recharge points off the mainline AC network (with the side bereft possibly being a springboard for then gradually infilling the electrification). Sadly, I think the 759 fiasco has killed anything like that unless authorities wold pay into a scheme. One Class 379 Electrostar was fitted with batteries and from what I understand it was a reasonable success as a trial, and shows that potentially newer trains are amenable to such modifications. GWR trails with battery only Class 230s trials, with their micro 3rd rail recharging system does seem to suggest merit with such approaches.

Another issues is the need to being down the cost of Electrification, which I guess will need NR to swallow its pride and give Balfour Beaty a call for them to price up variants of the low cost lightweight BR Mk3 systems they have been successfully selling abroad for the best part of 50 years, including to Amtrak and the NY MTA (including Mk1/3 upgrades for older US systems) and recently, New Zeeland (again) and Caltrain.