British Rail Class 397
Electric multiple unit built for TransPennine Express services.
Last updated
The British Rail Class 397 Civity is an electric multiple unit built by CAF for TransPennine Express. Twelve five-car units were built to operate services between Liverpool Lime Street and Edinburgh Waverley. The fleet is branded as Nova 2 and entered service on 30 November 2019.
History
FirstGroup revealed plans for new trains after securing the TransPennine Express franchise starting 1 April 2016. That May, TransPennine Express ordered twelve five-car electric units from CAF, replacing ten four-car units on routes linking Liverpool, Manchester, and Scotland.
The first set underwent testing at the Velim railway test circuit in July 2018. An option for up to twenty-two extra units existed but was never taken up. In May 2023, unit 397011 received special Eurovision branding for the event hosted in Liverpool.
Did You Know?
- The units were awarded the Golden Spanner Award for maintenance reliability.
- The trains include single doors at the ends of the coach and first class with catering from an on-board galley kitchen.
- Wi-Fi and seat reservations are available on the train.
More in Passenger Trains Running at Least at 200 Km/h in Commercial Operations
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: British Rail Class 397 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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