British Rail Class 397

The British Rail Class 397 Civity[6] is a class of electric multiple unit built by Spanish rolling stock manufacturer CAF for lease to TransPennine Express by Eversholt Rail Group.[7] A total of twelve five-car units were built to operate services on TransPennine North West services between Liverpool Lime Street/Manchester Airport and Edinburgh Waverley/Glasgow Central.[8][9]

British Rail Class 397
Civity
Transpennine Express Class 397 at Wigan North Western in April 2019
Class 397 at Wigan North Western in April 2019
Standard-class interior of a Class 397 unit
Standard-class interior of a Class 397 unit
In service30 November 2019 – present
ManufacturerCAF
Built atBeasain, Spain[1]
Family nameCivity
ReplacedClass 350/4
Constructed2017–2019
Number built12
Formation5 cars per unit:
DMFLW-PTS-MSL-PTSL-DMSL
Fleet numbers397001–397012
Capacity286 seats (22 first-class, 264 standard)[2]
Owner(s)Eversholt Rail Group
Operator(s)
Depot(s)
Line(s) servedWest Coast Main Line
Specifications
Train length118 m (387 ft 2 in)[3]
Car length
  • DM vehicles:
    24.03 m (78 ft 10 in)
  • Intermediate vehicles:
    23.35 m (76 ft 7 in)
DoorsSingle-leaf sliding plug (2 per side per car)
Maximum speed125 mph (200 km/h)
Acceleration0.92 m/s2 (3.0 ft/s2)
Electric system(s)25 kV 50 Hz AC overhead
Current collector(s)Pantograph
Braking system(s)Electro-pneumatic (disc) and regenerative
Safety system(s)
Coupling systemDellner
Multiple workingWithin class, but not yet authorised[note 1]
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Notes/references
Sourced from [5] unless otherwise noted.

TransPennine Express has branded all of their new fleet under the general name Nova, with the Class 397 units branded as Nova 2.[7] 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 12 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.[8]

Testing of the first set began at the Velim railway test circuit in July 2018.[2]

An option for up to 22 extra units was available to TransPennine Express, but it was not exercised.[12]

In May 2023, 397011 received special Eurovision branding to celebrate the event taking place in Liverpool.[13]

Operation

The Nova 2 was launched officially by TPE at Liverpool Lime Street with other members of the Nova fleet.[14] The first unit entered passenger service on 30 November 2019.

Fleet details
Subclass Operator Quantity Year built Cars per unit Unit nos.
397/0 TransPennine Express 12 2017–2019 5 397001–397012

The units were designed as an intercity train. This included the addition of single doors at the ends of the coach, a maximum speed of 125 mph (201 km/h) and first class with catering provision from the on-board galley kitchen. Wi-Fi and seat reservations are also available on the train. These trains were also awarded the Golden Spanner Award for maintenance reliability.[5]

Vehicle numbering

Individual vehicles are numbered in the ranges as follows, with the last three digits of each vehicle number matching those of the unit to which the vehicle belongs:[4]

DMFLW PTS MSL PTSL DMSL
471001–471012 472001–472012 473001–473012 474001–474012 475001–475012

European Vehicle Numbers for the fleet are devised by prefixing the domestic vehicle number with type code 94, country code 70, and a leading zero; "94700...".

Named trains
TPE Class 397 units with special names or liveries
Unit number Date Name
397011 3 May 2023 Eurovision 2023 / Welcome to Liverpool[15]

Livery illustration
TransPennine Express Class 397 'Nova 2'

See also

Notes
  1. The authorisation granted in July 2019 permitted single-unit operation only, until such time as testing of pantograph performance in trains of more than one unit confirmed compliance with the relevant Technical Specifications for Interoperability.[4]

References
  1. Clinnick, Richard (6 September 2017). "First Picture: TransPennine Express Class 397 takes shape in Spain". Rail Magazine. Peterborough: Bauer Consumer Media. Archived from the original on 8 November 2018. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
  2. Vosman, Quintus (4 July 2018). "CAF Civity EMU for TransPennine Express on test at Velim". International Railway Journal. Falmouth: Simmons-Boardman Publishing. Archived from the original on 1 September 2018. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
  3. "Civity Regional Train for TransPennine Express". Beasain: Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles. Archived from the original on 1 December 2022. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  4. Prosser, Ian (19 July 2019). "The Railways (Interoperability) Regulations 2011, as amended – Authorisation of CAF Class 397 electric multiple units fitted with AWS and TPWS, GSM-R voice only, maximum speed of 125 mph, vehicle numbers 397001 to 397012" (PDF). Letter to Paul Simmons (Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles). London: Office of Rail and Road. UK/51/2019/0007. Archived (PDF) from the original on 27 August 2021. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  5. "Class 397". London: Eversholt Rail Group. Archived from the original on 25 July 2022. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  6. Haigh, Philip (20 July 2016). "Is it time for the railway to standardise on fewer types of trains, to cut costs?". Rail Magazine. No. 805. Peterborough: Bauer Consumer Media.
  7. "Our northern stars". Together. No. 3. London: First TransPennine Express. pp. 8–9. Retrieved 3 January 2020 – via Issuu.
  8. "More New Trains for the North and Scotland". London: First TransPennine Express. 20 May 2016. Archived from the original on 6 September 2017. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
  9. "TransPennine Express Class 397 fleet taking shape". Rail UK. Coalville: Rail Media Group. 6 September 2017. Archived from the original on 1 December 2022. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  10. "Nova 2 enters service at last". Rail Business UK. Sutton: DVV Media International. 2 December 2019. Archived from the original on 19 December 2019. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
  11. "New TransPennine Express franchise launches". London: First TransPennine Express. 1 April 2016. Archived from the original on 12 June 2016. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  12. Eversheds LLP (22 December 2015). Franchise Agreement – TransPennine Express (Execution Copy) (PDF). London: Department for Transport. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
  13. "TransPennine Express' Eurovision train revealed by singing soprano – RailAdvent". www.railadvent.co.uk. 3 May 2023. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  14. "TransPennine Express launches Nova fleet". Rail Business UK. Sutton: DVV Media International. 25 November 2019. Archived from the original on 19 December 2019. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  15. "TransPennine Express' Eurovision train revealed by singing soprano". RailAdvent. 3 May 2023. Retrieved 3 May 2023.

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