Monday 22 April 2024 saw new Class 197 DMUs enter service on the Ebbw Vale Line, offering customers more comfortable seating and longer trains.
The bodies of the coaches were built in Spain, and the assembly of the completed trains took place at the CAF train factory in Newport.
Some of the 197 class DMUs have been in service on some of the lines in east and south Wales already.
Today saw them perform their first revenue earning services up and down the Ebbw Vale line.
With 2-car and 3-car variants of the 197 class, it will be largely the 2-car sets that will run up to Ebbw Vale.
With the upgrade works on the line being complete, these trains will have the capability of running in pairs, enabling TfW to run 4-car trains at peak times to and from both Cardiff Central and Newport.
Services from Ebbw Vale to Newport started running in January, offering an hourly service from Ebbw Vale to Newport alongside the hourly services to Cardiff Central, increasing capacity on the line.
As part of the £800m investment, a total of 77 of the 197 class will enter service.
It is planned that the trains will run on the majority of lines in Wales, gradually replacing the older classes of DMUs, which themselves are now pushing nearly forty years in service since their introduction in the 1980s.
As of yet, all 77 new trains are yet to be completed, meaning the older, and the already completed newer trains will run side by side in service until all the new trains can enter service.
It is hoped that more new 197s will have entered service on the Pembroke Dock and Cambrian Lines by mid 2025.
This is great news. These trains are modern and comfortable and provide a much-improved experience for passengers. This is another positive step for rail services in Wales.”
The Cabinet Secretary for North Wales and Transport, Ken Skates
Earlier this year we were able to launch brand new services to Newport from Ebbw Vale thanks to a £70 million public investment in the stations, track and signalling, and these new trains are the next important step to help boost the economy and to encourage people to make more sustainable journeys. I'm delighted that our Ebbw Vale customers will be benefiting from our brand-new trains. The trains are comfortable, and offer greater capacity for our customers.”
Chief Customer and Culture Office at Transport for Wales, Marie Daly
These units are ideal for this kind of work. I’m not sure they’re suitable for the long-distance work on the North Wales Coast line where the high-density commuter seating is a climb down from the 175 or 158 units.
This is good news atl last but if they are the same as those in North Wales they will drive passengers mad with their endless yap, yap, yap of announcements constantly disturbing what would otherwise be peaceful journeys. TfW needs to abbreviate these into simple ‘next station’ announcements only