Class 730 EMU fleet enters service in West Midlands
Three-car ‘Aventra’ trains introduced on Wolverhampton-Walsall route.
WEST Midlands Railway
(WMR) launched its‘Aventra’ Class 730/0 trains in the West Midlands on February 8, ahead of their introduction into service from February 12.
The 48 three-car trains represent part of an overall
£700 million investment for the operator in new rolling stock, which over the next 12 months will replace the 30-year-old Class 323s on the Cross-City line as well as the Class 350/2s on its other routes. All of the three-car sets have been accepted by WMR.
The first route to see the Class 730s will be Wolverhampton to Walsall, with a single diagram initially replacing a Class
350. Introduction of the class on this first diagram will be a step towards introducing the sets on Birmingham’s busy Cross-City line between Lichfield Trent Valley and Redditch or Bromsgrove. Other Wolverhampton to Walsall diagrams will soon switch to Class 730s. The Alstom-built units were first launched at Milton Keynes on June 30, 2023, and four pairs currently work suburban services at peak hours out of London Euston.
WMR engineering director John Doughty explained how introduction of the new trains on the Cross-City route was complex because of the sheer number of crews to train, a situation not helped by being disrupted by strike action. Crews will familiarise themselves with the trains on the Wolverhampton-Walsall route, before introduction on the Cross-City line over a few weeks, probably in the late spring. This will also ensure competencies do not lapse before the wider rollout.
Capacity
On the Cross-City line, like most Class 323 diagrams at present, the sets will work in pairs. In this formation with their 2+2 seating, wider gangways and more standing space by the doors, passenger capacity is
546 passengers per set with
201 seated. This represents a substantial increase versus Class 323 capacity and as a result the line will have another 1200 seats per hour on the four-trains per hour service. Mr Doughty said it would like to return to six trains per hour in the future. It will also introduce Class 730s on Birmingham InternationalRugeley Trent Valley services. Seventeen Class 323s will be transferred to Northern. Three sets have already moved. Production of five-car London NorthWesternbranded versions of the Class 730 is nearing conclusion at Alstom in Derby and units have been out on test, but none have been accepted yet. With 36 units being built, this Class 730/2 sub-class will work on the half-hourly Liverpool Lime Street-Birmingham New Street services and eventually Trent Valley local services from Euston to Crewe, as well as suburban services at the Euston end of the West Coast Main Line, allowing the 730/0 sets to transfer to the West Midlands.
While the Class 350/2s will be returned to the leasing company by the end of the year, some existing Class 350 diagrams will be strengthened to match demand. Recently at weekends, a number of Trent Valley services have been running as 12-car formations to cater for the upsurge in leisure travel.