TfW names provisional date for new ‘197s’ in service
ON July 1, Transport for Wales invited stakeholders and members of the press to step on board one of its new Class 197 diesel multiple units for the first time.
Assembled by CAF at the Spanish manufacturer’s factory in Newport, a total of 77 units are to be built - comprising 51 two-car and 26 three-car units.
The first two-car unit (197002) was on show at Chester station, with members of the TfW team on hand to answer any questions. And the question on the lips of most people is: when will the new units enter service?
And the official answer is: by the end of this year.
But while TfW is saying that the first units will begin to enter service by the end of the year, it is hoped that with driver training now well under way the first unit could in fact be in service as early as the beginning of autumn.
It’s not certain on which routes the new units will enter service first. TfW says they will enter service in north Wales, but the Conwy Valley line, where they have been seen on test, seems like a prime candidate for the inaugural passenger service.
The new units will eventually be stabled and maintained at the depot in Chester, which is currently used to maintain TfW’s fleet of Class 175s. But once all 77 Class 197s enter service, some will likely be stabled at Canton and Llandudno Junction.
The Chester depot doesn’t currently have wheel turning facilities, so the procedure will have to take place at Canton or
Arriva TrainCare in Crewe - unless a northern location for wheel turning is established, which is something TfW has been investigating.
One thing that passengers will be pleased to hear is that the units will have catering provision.
Catering is likely to be important on long-distance services such as those provided by Transport for Wales, which also attract a large number of leisure travellers.
It will take the form of a trolley service, supplied with water from an 80-litre water tank located opposite the cycle storage area, which should be more than enough for over 300 cups of tea and/or coffee.
Speaking of cycle storage, the two-car units only have space for two bikes, which doesn’t sound as if it will be enough.
However, there is potentially space within the doorways for cyclists to stand with bikes if needed - unlike Class 175s, which have narrow single-leaf doors at the end of the carriages, Class 197s have double doors with a 1/3, 2/3 arrangement.
“At Transport for Wales, we’re continually moving forward with our transformational plans to improve public transport for the people of Wales and the borders,”
said TfW’s Director of Transport Operations Alexia Course.
“The Class 197s on show at Chester railway station will be an important part of the transformation of the Wales and Borders network. When they enter service, they will enable us to run more services and carry more customers in comfort.”
Seat comfort on new rolling stock does seem to be a hot topic at the moment. And I’m pleased to report (at least in my opinion) that the seats do seem comfortable, which is crucial on Wales and Borders services, with some journeys lasting over four hours.
Unfortunately, the door arrangement does reduce the number of table seats that can be provided, but the airline seats do seem to have ample legroom.
Each pair of seats shares a single three-pin plug located below the seat in front, but each power point does also have two USB charging ports.
Perhaps the new units will never be compared favourably with the Class 175s or ‘158s’, which many passengers seem to think highly of.
But the DMUs will allow TfW to increase capacity on busy routes such as Manchester-South Wales, and to introduce brand new routes such as Liverpool to Llandudno and Cardiff, which ultimately can only be a good thing.