CAF makes progress on TransPennine Express Class 397s and Mk 5As

The second five-car Class 397 for TransPennine Express was due to arrive for testing at Velim as this issue of RAIL went to press. The EMU joins 397001, which was delivered to the Czech facility in early July ( RAIL 857).

Meanwhile, construction has reached 397009 in northern Spain, where CAF is building the five-car 125mph electric multiple units that will enter traffic next spring.

Class 397s will be used on TPE’s new Liverpool Lime Street-Glasgow Central/Edinburgh Waverley route, while also serving Manchester Airport. They will replace Class 350/4 Desiros that will transfer to London Northwestern Railway.

Meanwhile, the rake of Mk 5As that was undergoing testing at Velim ( RAIL 851) has now arrived in the UK.

The five coaches were the first built by CAF and have undergone extensive testing with TPE 68019 and 68021 before heading to the UK and Manchester International depot for further testing and commissioning. The coaches - Trailer First (TF) 11501, Trailer Standard (TS) 12701-12703 and Driving Trailer Standard (DTS) 12801 - will join ten other TPE Mk 5As already in the UK (11502/503, 12704-709, 12802/803).

The Mk 5As will run in fixed formations, although owner Beacon Rail has devised a plan for the spare DTS ordered (12814) to undergo testing and commissioning in the UK as part of the programme for the rest of the fleet. There had been concern it would be used for spares.

TPE has 13 rakes of Mk 5As and 12 Class 397 EMUs on order from CAF, and 19 Class 802/2 bi-modes on order from Hitachi. From the latter fleet, so far five-car 802201 has been delivered from Kasado (Japan) and is at the manufacturer’s Doncaster Carr depot, with classmate 802202 due in the UK this month. Testing of the bi-modes will start later this year.

TPE’s ‘802’ fleet is being built in Kasado and Pistoia (Italy). The introduction of the new trains enables TPE to release ten ‘350/4s’ and 22 three-car Class 185 diesel multiple units, although the latter may yet be retained if TPE takes over the Nottingham-Liverpool route that is currently operated by East Midlands Trains. This is subject to Rail North and Government approval ( RAIL 855).