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There's a piece in this month's Railway Magazine about this, yes 390054 & 390055 are having to be kept apart, they are not even allowed to pass or enter the same station at the same time. One is diagrammed to be used on London -Manchester via Trent valley and Stoke. The other is on duties between Birmingham and Scotland. Evidently it's all down to the Insurance companies. These sets cost £30 million each and the thought of them both being in an accident and subsequently written off is something the insurance companies don't want to contemplate. The older sets have depreciated in value somewhat so they would not have to pay out so much if one were involved in an accident with a new set. In April a new insurance policy comes into force and the situation will cease.
The above is a paraphrase to the Railway Mag. article, it's on page 9 of the current issue if anyone wants a sneaky read in their local newsagents.
Hope this helps. The whole thing sounds totally DAFT to me.
Regards, 62440.
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