British Rail Class 397
| British Rail Class 397 Civity | |
|---|---|
 397003 at Wigan North Western in 2019 | |
 The standard class interior of a Class 397 | |
| In service | 30 November 2019–present |
| Manufacturer | CAF |
| Built at | Beasain, Spain[1] |
| Family name | Civity |
| Replaced | Class 350/4 |
| Constructed | 2017–2019 |
| Number built | 12 units |
| Formation | 5 carriages per unit |
| Fleet numbers | 397001–397012 |
| Capacity | 286 seats (264 in standard, 22 in first class)[2] |
| Operators | TransPennine Express |
| Specifications | |
| Train length | 118 m (387 ft 2 in)[3] |
| Car length | DMFLW & DMSL: 24.03 m (78 ft 10 in) PTS, MSL & PTSL: 23.35 m (76 ft 7 in)[4] |
| Doors | Sliding plug, at body ends |
| Maximum speed | 125 mph (201 km/h)[4] |
| Acceleration | max. 0.92 m/s2 (3.3 km/(h⋅s); 2.1 mph/s)[4] |
| Electric system(s) | 25 kV 50 Hz AC Overhead[4] |
| Current collector(s) | Pantograph |
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge |
The British Rail Class 397 Civity[5] is a class of electric multiple unit built by Spanish rolling stock manufacturer CAF for lease to TransPennine Express by Eversholt Rail Group.[6] A total of twelve five-car units were built to operate services on TransPennine North West (services between Liverpool / Manchester and Scotland).[7][8]
TransPennine Express has branded all of their new fleet under the general name Nova, with the Class 397 units branded as Nova 2.[9] The first unit entered service on 30 November 2019.[10]
History
The announcement of new trains was made by FirstGroup when it was confirmed that they would become the next operator of the TransPennine Express franchise from 1 April 2016.[11] In May 2016 it was announced by TransPennine Express that they had ordered twelve five-car electric multiple units from CAF to replace the fleet of ten four-car Class 350/4 Desiro units which previously operated TransPennine Express services between Liverpool, Manchester and Scotland.[12] This train is not equipped with tilting.[13]
Testing of the first set began at the Velim railway test circuit in July 2018.[14]
An option for up to 22 extra units was available to TransPennine Express, but it was not exercised.[15]
Operation
Just prior to entering service, the Nova 2 was launched officially by TPE at Liverpool Lime Street with other members of the Nova fleet.[16] The first unit finally entered passenger service on 30 November 2019, following a lot of reliability testing and mileage accumulation runs.[17] In the end, the Nova 2 was the last member of the Nova fleet to enter service.
Fleet details
| Class | Operator | No. Built | Year Built | Cars per Set | Unit nos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Class 397 | TransPennine Express | 12[18] | 2017-2019 | 5[18] | 397001–397012 |
See also
- British Rail Class 195 - A diesel multiple unit variant of the CAF Civity UK platform built for Northern.
- British Rail Class 196 - A diesel multiple unit variant of the CAF Civity UK platform being built for West Midlands Trains.
- British Rail Class 197 - A diesel multiple unit variant of the CAF Civity UK platform being built for Transport for Wales.
- British Rail Class 331 - An electric multiple unit variant of the CAF Civity UK platform also built for Northern.
References
- ^ Clinnick, Richard. "FIRST PICTURE: TransPennine Express Class 397 takes shape in Spain". RAIL magazine. RAIL magazine. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
- ^ "CAF Civity EMU for TransPennine Express on test at Velim - International Railway Journal". M.railjournal.com. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
- ^ "REGIONAL TRAIN CIVITY FIRST GROUP TRANSPENNINE".
- ^ a b c d "Class 397". Eversholt Rail. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
- ^ Haigh, Philip. "Is it time for the railway to standardise on fewer types of trains, to cut costs?". Rail Magazine. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
- ^ "TransPennine Express - Together February 2018". Issuu. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
- ^ "25 New 5-Carriage Trains | News | First TransPennine Express". www.tpexpress.co.uk. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
- ^ "TransPennine Express Class 397 fleet taking shape". Global Rail News. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
- ^ TransPennine Express - Together February 2018
- ^ 2019-12-02T09:37:00+00:00. "Nova 2 enters service at last". Railway Gazette International. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "New TransPennine Express franchise launches". TransPennine Express. TransPennine Express. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
- ^ "More new trains for the North and Scotland". TransPennine Express. TransPennine Express. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
- ^ TransPennine Express launches Nova fleet - Rail Business UK. Retrieved 25 August 2020
- ^ "CAF Civity EMU for TransPennine Express on test at Velim". International Railway Journal. 4 July 2016. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
- ^ "TPE Franchise Agreement" (PDF). Government of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
- ^ 2019-11-25T10:11:00+00:00. "TransPennine Express launches Nova fleet". Railway Gazette International. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ https://twitter.com/railwaysillus/status/1200713391280664576?s=20[non-primary source needed]
- ^ a b "Nova 2 enters service at last". Railway Gazette International. 2 December 2019. Retrieved 24 September 2020.