The Class 196 diesel multiple units are part of the CAF Civity family like the Class 195 and 397. Twenty six sets (in a mixture of two and four car formations) have been built for West Midlands Railway for use on their routes from Birmingham New Street to Shrewsbury replacing Class 170s and other WMR services. Deliveries of the Class 196 began in 2020 and the type entered service in October 2022 initially on services to Shrewsbury [1].
West Midlands Railway 196 008 at Bedworth
Information
Number built:
80 (26 2 or 4-car sets)
Built:
2019-2022
Builder:
CAF Newport
Motor:
Rolls-Royce MTU 6H1800R85L diesel per car
Power:
523 hp (390 kW) per car
Twelve two-car sets and fourteen four-car sets have been built.
The type are also used on the Birmingham to Hereford, the Leamington-Nuneaton line (also known as the Elephant & Bear Line). The new Camp Hill services planned for 2025 could also use the Class 196. Some two-car sets could also be allocated to operate on the new East West Rail line between Oxford and Milton Keynes Central when it opens later this decade.
196 107 at Shrewsbury
Aboard a 196
196 009 at University
196 110 at Birmingham New Street
196 007 at Nuneaton
[1] "West Midlands Trains launches CAF 196s", Modern Railways (November 2022) p. 12
The Urbos 3 fleet is the second generation of light rail rolling stock built for the West Midlands Metro from Wolverhampton to Birmingham, replacing the earlier T-69 fleet [1].
Tram 31 on Corporation Street
Information
Number built:
42
Built:
2012-15, 2021-23
Builder:
CAF
Motor:
12 traction motors (750v DC OHLE)
Power:
1, 320 hp (960 kW)
The Urbos is a successful type of modern tram built by CAF, used in dozens of light rail systems across the world though the West Midlands Metro fleet is the only Urbos 3 stock used in England (the type is also used in Edinburgh).
The trams were introduced for the extension of the West Midlands Metro from Birmingham Snow Hill to Birmingham New Street railway station. They are slightly wider than the T-69s they replaced (about seventeen centimetres) thus the line had to be closed for a few weeks to allow for platform modifications before the Urbos 3 could enter service.
The trams are also nine metres longer and can carry up to 210 passengers per tram compared to 156 on the T-69 (though the actual number of seats is almost the same). All of the trams were given the pink and white livery of the Midlands Metro as it was originally known though all now carry the blue livery of the re-branded West Midlands Metro.
CAF have developed rechargable batteries for fitting to the fleet to allow them to operate on extensions to the metro where there are no overhead wires [2] such as around Birmingham town hall. Twenty one more trams were built in the early 2020s to strengthen the fleet as the West Midlands Metro expands.
Tram 38 (the first in the second batch) arrives at Loxdale
The original livery carried by the trams
Tram 48 at Edgbaston Village, the current terminus of Line 1
Look Ma no wires! A tram passes Birmingham Town Hall on battery power
Tram 51 heads towards West Bromwich
[1] Colin J Marsden, Rail Guide 2016 (Ian Allan, 2016) p. 280 [2] Colin J Marsden (ed.), Light Rail (Key Publishing, 2018) p. 63
The Class 197 is part of the CAF Civity family like the Class 195 and 196. It is being built to allow Transport for Wales to withdraw and supplement a number of older classes of diesel multiple unit.
Transport for Wales 197 013 arrives at Warrington Bank Quay
Information
Number built:
180 (77 2 or 3-car sets)
Built:
2020-
Builder:
CAF Newport
Motor:
Rolls-Royce MTU 6H1800R85L diesel per car
Power:
(2-car) 1, 010 hp (750 kW) (3-car) 1, 509 hp (1, 125 kW)
Formation:
(197/0) DMSL (Driving Motor Standard Lavatory)+ DMS (Driving Motor Standard)
(197/1) DMSL+MSL (Motor Standard Lavatory)+ DMC (Driving Motor Composite) or DMS
The Class 197 is being built in two sub-classes. A two-car formation with all standard class seating and a three-car formation which has some first class provision. All cars are powered. Some units from each sub-class have been fitted with support for ETCS (European Train Control System) signalling.
The first Class 197 was completed in 2021 and entered service in late 2022.
The Class 331 electric multiple unit is part of the CAF Civity family and is the electric counterpart to the Class 195 diesel multiple unit. Forty three sets have been built for Northern, thirty one being three car unit, the other twelve being four car with an extra trailer. The Class 331 entered service with Northern in 2019 replacing the Class 321 and 322.
Northern 331 015 at Crewe
Information
Number built:
177 (43 3 or 4-car sets)
Built:
2019-
Builder:
CAF
Motor:
8 TSA TME 52-15-4 traction motors (25kV AC OHLE)
Power:
2, 360 hp (1, 760 kW)
Formation:
(331/0) DMSL (Driving Motor Standard Lavatory) + PTS (Pantograph Trailer Second) + DMS (Driving Motor Second)
(331/1) DMSL + PTS + TS (Trailer Second) + DMS
Apart from the power generation and drivetrain the Class 331 is identical to the Class 195. The units are one of the fastest accelerating units in British service.
The Class 397 are high-speed electric multiple units (capable of 125 mp/h) operated by Trans Pennine Express (TPE) on services between North West England and Scotland. The units are part of the CAF Civity family like the Class 195 and 331. In TPE service they are known as Nova 2.
TPE 397 005 at Liverpool Lime Street
Information
Number built:
60 (12 5-car sets)
Built:
2017-19
Builder:
CAF
Motor:
Electric motors (25 kV AC OHLE)
Formation:
DMFLW (Driving Motor First Lavatory)+PTS (Pantograph Trailer Standard)+MSL (Motor Standard Lavatory)+PTSL (Pantograph Trailer Standard Lavatory)+DMSL (Driving Motor Standard Lavatory)
The units replaced the Class 350 in TPE service. They entered service in 2019. TPE operate a fleet of twelve Class 397s, an option for twenty-two more was not taken up.
The Class 195 diesel multiple unit, part of CAF's Civity family, is being built alongside the similar Class 331 electric multiple unit to replace British Rail built units like the Class 156 for Northern [1]. Deliveries of the Class 195 began in June 2018 and the units entered service in July 2019. The Class 195 was initially being used on services between Manchester Airport and Liverpool Lime Street or Barrow-in-Furness. Other routes followed as more sets entered service.
Northern 185 114 at Liverpool Lime Street
Information
Number built:
116 (58 2 or 3-car sets)
Built:
2017-2020
Builder:
CAF
Motor:
Rolls-Royce MTU 6H1800R85L diesel per car
Power:
(195/0) 1, 046 hp (780 kW) / (195/1) 1, 569 hp (1, 170 kW)
Formation:
(195/0) DMSO (Driving Motor Standard Open)+
DMSOL (Driving Motor Standard Open Lavatory)
(195/1) DMSO+MS (Motor Standard) + DMSOL
Fifty eight sets, a mixture of two (195/0) and three cars (195/1), were built by CAF at it's facilities in Irun Spain and Newport in Wales. More sets could be ordered at a later stage. Similar DMUs, part of the Civity family, are being built for the West Midlands (Class 196) and Wales (Class 197).
The original plan was for the Class 195 to enter service at the end of 2018 but problems with the couplers delayed it. The Class 195 finally entered service at the start of July 2019.
Northern 195 113 heads through Hartford
Northern 195 118 at Liverpool Lime Street
Sideview of 195 111 on a test run at Crewe
195 111 approaches Crewe
195 118 at Liverpool Lime Street
[1] "New trains for the North", Modern Railways (June 2019) p.15
