CAF has transferred its first class 196 four-car DMU to the site for commissioning, and will also generate the data needed to obtain various certificates and the authorisation to place into service.
The train has been manufactured for West Midlands Trains, a consortium of Abellio, JR East and Mitsui which has a franchise running until March 2026.
The trains, which are based on CAF’s Civity platform, will operate regional services around Birmingham when they enter service at the end of 2020. CAF is delivering 14 four-car DMUs and 12 two-car units, categorised as class 196, to replace the ageing class 153 and class 170 Turbostar DMUs.
Each car is fitted with a 390kW Rolls-Royce MTU 6H 1800 R85L engine, giving a total power rating of 1560kW. The cars will be coupled with Dellner automatic centre couplers, with only standard-class available onboard.
Class 701
Bombardier has sent its first much-delayed 160km/h five-car class 701 EMU produced in Derby to the test centre.
South Western Railway has ordered 30 five-car trains and 60 10-car EMUs based on Bombardier’s Aventra platform.
The five-car set has a power rating of 2MW, while the 10-car variant has a power rating of 4MW. Delivery of both fleets is due to take place during 2020 and 2021.
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