On 2 Aug, 10:13, Boltar wrote:
What will happen to the contact
shoes, interestingly enough?
They'll be removed, there being no further use for them
Famous last words. Why don't they simply keep them just in case?

There will be no point. Eurostar drivers will very soon lose route
knowledge and therefore be unable to work away from HS1

Ok , fair enough. But surely keeping the ability to move the stock on
the 3rd rail network for some sort of stock or emergency move would
outweigh the pennies saved in maintaining the equipment?

Doesn't have any real advantages over towing them with a loco - there
won't be any drivers with 373 knowledge and 3rd rail route knowledge,
so you'd need to bring one in specially - at which point, you might as
well hire a 66-and-driver to do the move,

& it's not really about the pennies saved by maintaining the equipment
- it's more about removing the potential for it to go wrong and cause
major delays, whether by thwacking French lineside equipment or
[other].

--
John Band
john at johnband dot org
www.johnband.org