Vivarail has announced that the livery for London Northwestern Railway services between Bedford and Bletchley has been revealed.
This is as a result of the contract for the Class 230 supply is officially signed.
The trains will start running on the line in December 2018 following production at Long Marston in Warwickshire.
The first of the new trains (230003), will begin testing over the next few weeks. Units 230004 and 230005 will be following shortly.
What did the officials say?
Jan Chaudry-van-de-Velde, managing director of West Midlands Trains said:
“I remember these trains from when they were on London Underground, but looking around the units there's so much new equipment on board that they look and feel like brand new trains. Vivarail has done a great job and these trains are an ideal match for this important local service.
“Our new London Northwestern Railway livery is appearing more and more prominently across the network, and we are proud to be able to share this bespoke version of design for the Marston Vale route.”
Adrian Shooter, CEO of Vivarail said
“Both Vivarail and West Midlands Trains have worked tirelessly to bring this to fruition and I am delighted to show what we have achieved. Everyone is pleased with the look and build quality and I'm very proud of the work my team has done. I am particularly impressed with the London Northwestern Railway livery and their interior designs – they certainly showcase the Class 230 and I think will be well received by Marston Vale's passengers.
“It is a proud day for me to see this first train roll out of our workshops and I am looking forward to seeing it at Bletchley depot in the near future.”
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Are they still going to use those unsuitable 3.2 litre 5 cylinder 200hp Ford Duratorq engines (3-4 per vehicle depending on 2 or 3 car formation if i understand correctly) which have plastic parts and even metal parts encased in plastic? The same engines that caught fire on 230001…? Why don’t they instead use something like, I dunno, 4 cylinder Cummins ISB4.5-210s (3 per 2 car unit or 4 per 3 car unit)…? Would cost more initially but less in the long term…
West Midlands Trains could order few more of them to operate them on the Coventry-Leamington Spa and Coventry-Nuneaton services and to work alongside the Class 172/0’s from London Overground as they will start operating from December.