Transport for Wales invited RailAdvent to Llandudno today (26th January) to see their new Class 197s officially launched by Lesley Griffiths MS.
CAF has built the new trains in Wales, with 51 two-car and 26 three-car trains set to be in service across the Wales and Borders network.
The trains include air con, and customer information screens.
197007 was named at the ceremony. The name, Happy Valley, was a result of a competition, in which, Tabitha from Ysgol Tudno won.
Class 197s first appeared in service at the end of 2022, on the Conwy Valley Line between Blaenau Ffestiniog and Llandudno.
We managed to take a seat in the 197, and found that the seats are very comfy with a good amount of padding. A TfW spokesperson says that these seats are a higher spec seats when compared to the CAF Class 195s that are in service with Northern.
It is nice to see power and usb points at each seat and the passenger information screens makes finding out information easy. A catering bay also features in one of the carriages too.
Currently, the Class 197s are based at the Chester depot, so have been seen on services between Llandudno and Blaenau Ffestiniog / Manchester Airport.
It is expected that Class 197s will begin to appear on services to Pwllheli next year, with driver training started in Cardiff. 197s for the Cambrian line will need the special signalling system fitted and these will be based at Machynlleth.
The introduction of Class 197s will see the start of withdrawals for Class 175s and 158s.
The Deputy Minister for Climate Change with responsibility for Transport, Lee Waters said: “This is great news. Funded by our £800m investment in a new fleet of trains, the Class 197s play an important part in our plans to transform rail services in Wales.
“Having travelled on the Class 197s, I can vouch for the greater comfort, speed and capacity offered by these new trains that will not only be used by Welsh passengers but were also made in Wales.”
Minister for North Wales, Lesley Griffiths said: “I was very pleased to officially launch Transport for Wales' impressive new trains in Llandudno today.
“This made-in-Wales fleet signals an important improvement to rail services and I'm sure passengers will enjoy travelling across North Wales lines on the Class 197s.”
James Price, Transport for Wales CEO, said: “The official launch of the Class 197s is a landmark day in the history of Transport for Wales and the Welsh rail industry, with the unveiling of the first brand new trains in Wales in a generation.
“The construction of our new trains has been four years in the making, and we're incredibly proud and excited to formally welcome passengers onto them. The trains will be an important part of the transformation of the Wales and Borders network and will enable us to run more services and carry more customers in comfort.
“It's also important to recognise that these trains have been made in Wales at the CAF factory in Newport and the building of them has provided jobs and supported the local economy.”
CAF UK Director Richard Garner commented: “This is a memorable day for CAF. We are extremely proud to play a key role in delivering TfW's commitment to transform rail travel for passengers, ensuring a high quality, reliable and comfortable journey.
“Our trains are being built in Wales to serve the Welsh communities, supporting highly skilled jobs and bringing local employment opportunities whilst focusing on sustainability issues and addressing the needs of the Welsh economy.”
We had a great day seeing the new train at in service, and we would like to thank Transport for Wales for inviting us along to take a look at the new trains.
What do you think? Let us know in the comments below. Video footage from our trip is currently being edited and should be available soon. This will be embedded into this article when it is available.
They look to be good trains with useful passenger amenities. But I do think the fitment of through corridor connections makes the front of these trains look very ugly – and also makes for quite a cramped driver cab.
I get that this allows trainsets to be joined together efficiently but, given that the 158s and 175s did not have these connections, I wonder how much this facility will actually be used?
158s do have gangwayed ends. Have you never watched them coupling and splitting at Shrewsbury?
As Transport for Wales have introduced the Class 197 Civity in service on various routes between Manchester and Holyhead and across Wales. And are replacing the Class 175 and other trains. The Class 175 should perhaps go to Northern to add more extra services in the Northeast and Northwest of England and the Class 150 to GWR to add more additional services in Cornwall and Devon.
Just to point out for those who don’t know, that “Happy Valley” is a local beauty spot at the foot of the Great Orme in Llandudno. Ysgol Tudno actually backs on to the railway line from Llandudno.
I have been using these trains since their first day of service, when they still had ‘software problems’ resulting in the need to reboot the system. I hope thathas been cured!
The Class 158 and 175s are compared with others a relatively new unit. Are these going to be transferred elsewhere or sent for scrap which would be crazy when there is still a use for them on the network.
Northern should inherit the Class 158 to improve more extra capacity in the Northeast and Northwest of England, Greater Manchester and Merseyside. And the Class 175 cascaded to GWR to add more extra capacity or extra trains in Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, Bristol, Avonmouth, Dorset, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire. Or maybe cascade the Class 158 and Class 175 to ScotRail to operate in the North of Scotland, West of Scotland and Southwest Scotland & Ayrshire.
“_to be in service across the Wales and Borders network” but not including the Central Wales line which will have to put up with 150s and 153s indefinitely.