Northern has announced that the first of the £500m new trains for passengers today as it made its first trial run on the UK rail network.
The train ran the first test from Liverpool and also running on the West Coast Mainline between Warrington and Carnforth.
Passengers will have a step up in quality on every one of the 98 new trains, such as WiFi, air conditioning and power sockets.
Trains have been built by CAF and are owned by Eversholt Rail and are now going through the rounds of testing on the UK rail network.
The testing will continue into the autumn until Northern launches it into passenger service by the end of the year.
What did the officials say?
Ben Ackroyd, Northern's Engineering Director, said:
“The first of the new trains arrived in the UK in June and we've received a further three since then. It's very rewarding to see our new trains programme reach such an important milestone. The start of UK track testing really brings the project to life after months of design and construction work.
“Passengers in the North West will get a chance to see the trains as they are being tested. There's a real sense of anticipation amongst the team here at Northern as we look forward to introducing a step change in what we offer our customers.”
Steve Timothy, Client Relations Director at Eversholt Rail, said:
“We are excited to see our new Class 195 and Class 331 trains arriving in the UK and moving into the testing phase. We'll continue to work closely with Northern Rail, CAF and local stakeholders to support these trains going into passenger service successfully in 2019.”
Richard Garner, CAF's UK Director, commented:
“We continue to enjoy an excellent collaborative working relationship with Northern and the UK track testing of vehicles is yet another important milestone.
“We are a step closer to seeing our vehicles operating on Northern's important and busy rail network, when we are confident our reliable, high-performance trains will deliver the best possible customer experience.”
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I think these are due to enter service in late December this year. Or possibly in early January next year as more Class 195 and Class 331 are currently being built in Spain.
And with Class 196 Civity to be built for West Midlands Railway which is likely to be built and to start service from late next year or in 2020 that will replace the Class 170 Turbostar to ScotRail, KeliosAmey Wales, Northern or Crosscountry. With Greater Anglia Class 170s to be cascaded to KeliosAmey Wales as Stadler Class 755 Bi-mode Flirt are to start service from next year. And London Overground Class 172 to cascade to West Midlands Railway as the Class 710 Aventra is to enter service on the Gospel Oak-Barking Line in November this year.