Class 195 DMUs lined up for Chester-Leeds Northern Connect route

CAF Class 195 diesel multiple units will be introduced onto the Chester-Leeds Northern Connect route from October 21, during the next round of new train introductions on the franchise.

More than 20 of the CAF Class 195s and ‘331s’ have now entered traffic with Northern, allowing the first tranche of Class 142s to be sent for warm storage, along with electric multiple unit 322481.

Currently 16 three-car and three two-car Class 195 DMUs are available for traffic, as well as four three-car Class 331/0 and six fourcar Class 331/1s.

Meanwhile, the latest deliveries at Edge Hill depot have been 195009/012, 331015-331018. They have arrived for testing and commissioning ahead of their entry into traffic.

The two latest ‘195s’ are both products of CAF’s Newport facility. It has been confirmed that the South Wales depot is assembling 195007-195025, as well as driving vehicles from 195131-133 (these were ordered after the initial 98-train deal was agreed, taking the CAF order to 101 trains).

The Class 331s are all built by CAF in Zaragoza (Spain), although 331111 and 331112 did move to Newport before arriving on Merseyside.

CAF trains in the UK for Northern, but not yet in traffic, are 195008/009/012/014, 195101/ 103-108/110-112/123/126-129, 331002/004/006/009-018, 331103-105/107/111/112, while 195001/007, 195102/109/ 113-122/124/125, 331001/005/ 007/008, 331101/102/106/ 108-110 have all been used for passenger traffic.