British Rail Class 397

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]

British Rail Class 397 Civity
397003 at Wigan North Western in 2019
The standard class interior of a Class 397
In service30 November 2019–present
ManufacturerCAF
Built atBeasain, Spain[1]
Family nameCivity
ReplacedClass 350/4
Constructed2017–2019
Number built12 units
Formation5 carriages per unit
Fleet numbers397001–397012
Capacity286 seats
(264 in standard, 22 in first class)[2]
Operator(s)TransPennine Express
Specifications
Train length118 m (387 ft 2 in)[3]
Car lengthDMFLW & DMSL: 24.03 m (78 ft 10 in)
PTS, MSL & PTSL: 23.35 m (76 ft 7 in)[4]
DoorsSliding plug, at body ends
Maximum speed125 mph (201 km/h)[4]
Accelerationmax. 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 collection methodPantograph
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge

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
TPE Class 397 'Nova 2'

See also

References
  1. Clinnick, Richard. "FIRST PICTURE: TransPennine Express Class 397 takes shape in Spain". RAIL magazine. RAIL magazine. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
  2. "CAF Civity EMU for TransPennine Express on test at Velim - International Railway Journal". M.railjournal.com. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
  3. "REGIONAL TRAIN CIVITY FIRST GROUP TRANSPENNINE".
  4. "Class 397". Eversholt Rail. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
  5. Haigh, Philip. "Is it time for the railway to standardise on fewer types of trains, to cut costs?". Rail Magazine. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  6. "TransPennine Express - Together February 2018". Issuu. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
  7. "25 New 5-Carriage Trains | News | First TransPennine Express". www.tpexpress.co.uk. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
  8. "TransPennine Express Class 397 fleet taking shape". Global Rail News. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
  9. TransPennine Express - Together February 2018
  10. 2019-12-02T09:37:00+00:00. "Nova 2 enters service at last". Railway Gazette International. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
  11. "New TransPennine Express franchise launches". TransPennine Express. TransPennine Express. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  12. "More new trains for the North and Scotland". TransPennine Express. TransPennine Express. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  13. TransPennine Express launches Nova fleet - Rail Business UK. Retrieved 25 August 2020
  14. "CAF Civity EMU for TransPennine Express on test at Velim". International Railway Journal. 4 July 2016. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
  15. "TPE Franchise Agreement" (PDF). Government of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
  16. 2019-11-25T10:11:00+00:00. "TransPennine Express launches Nova fleet". Railway Gazette International. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
  17. https://twitter.com/railwaysillus/status/1200713391280664576?s=20%5B%5D
  18. "Nova 2 enters service at last". Railway Gazette International. 2 December 2019. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
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