Class 175 woes continue as TFW sources parts
Transport for Wales has suffered a shortage of available trains in the wake of the decision to take its Class 175 diesel multiple units out of service for deep cleaning and servicing of the engine bays – following three ‘thermal incidents’ involving the fleet in the space of a few weeks (Railways Illustrated issue 243).
As part of the work to return the trains to service, TFW is fitting replacement charge air coolers to the radiators on the trains, but the necessary component is in short supply and the operator has been trying to source replacements internationally due to their scarcity. However, only those units that have received the necessary deep cleaning and replacement charge air coolers have been accepted back into traffic, leaving TFW with a temporary shortage of trains, with the Class 175s normally used on longer-distance services.
This has seen other trains from the TFW fleet deployed on trains that would usually be worked by the 175s, and some of the lighter-used services have been temporarily substituted with rail replacement buses.
As this issue of Railways Illustrated went to press in late April, availability was improving, with eight trains in regular service each day – and that number was expected to increase. The Alstom-built Class 175 fleet consists of 11 two-coach trains (numbered 175001-011) and 16 three-coach trains (175101-116), all of which have been in traffic for TFW in recent years. The Class 175s are being phased out by the operator as more of its new Caf-built Class 197 DMUS enter traffic. A spokesman confirmed to Railways Illustrated that the first few Class 175s had already gone off-lease, with more to follow in the coming weeks.