British Rail Class 397

British Rail Class 397 Civity
Class 397 at Wigan North Western in April 2019
Standard-class interior of a Class 397 unit
Stock type	Electric multiple unit
In service	30 November 2019 –present
Manufacturer	CAF
Built at	Beasain, Spain [1]
Family name	Civity
Replaced	Class 350/4
Constructed	2017–2019
Number built	12
Number in service	12
Formation	5 cars per unit: DMFLW-PTS1-MSL-PTS2-DMSL
Fleet numbers	397001–397012
Capacity	286 seats (22 first-class, 264 standard) [2]
Owners	Eversholt Rail Group
Operators	Current: TransPennine Express Former: First TransPennine Express
Depots	Longsight (Manchester) Polmadie (Glasgow) [1]
Lines served	West Coast Main Line
Specifications
Train length	118 m (387 ft 2 in) [3]
Car length	DM vehicles: 24.026 m (78 ft 9.9 in) Intermediate vehicles: 23.35 m (76 ft 7 in)
Doors	Single-leaf sliding plug (2 per side per car)
Maximum speed	125 mph (200 km/h)
Traction system	CAF Power AC IGBT-VVVF
Acceleration	0.92 m/s2 (3.0 ft/s2)
Electric system(s)	25 kV 50 Hz AC overhead
Current collection	Pantograph
Braking system(s)	Electro-pneumatic (disc) and regenerative
Safety system(s)	AWS TPWS (plus provision for ETCS) [4]
Coupling system	Dellner
Multiple working	Within class, but not yet authorised [a]
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Notes/references
Sourced from [5] unless otherwise noted.

The British Rail Class 397 Civity ^[6] is a class of electric multiple unit built by Spanish rolling stock manufacturer CAF for lease to TransPennine Express by Eversholt Rail Group. ^[7] A total of twelve five-car units were built to operate services on TransPennine North West services between Liverpool Lime Street/Manchester Airport and Edinburgh Waverley/Glasgow Central. ^{[8] [9]}

TransPennine Express has branded all of their new fleet under the general name Nova, with the Class 397 units branded as Nova 2. ^[7] The first unit entered service on 30 November 2019. ^[10]

History

The announcement of new trains was made by FirstGroup when it was confirmed that they would become the next operator of the TransPennine Express franchise from 1 April 2016. ^[11] In May 2016 it was announced by TransPennine Express that they had ordered 12 five-car electric multiple units from CAF to replace the fleet of ten four-car Class 350/4Desiro units which previously operated TransPennine Express services between Liverpool, Manchester and Scotland. ^[8]

Testing of the first set began at the Velim railway test circuit in July 2018. ^[2]

An option for up to 22 extra units was available to TransPennine Express, but it was not exercised. ^[12]

In May 2023, 397011 received special Eurovision branding to celebrate the event taking place in Liverpool. ^[13]

Operation

The Nova 2 was launched officially by TPE at Liverpool Lime Street with other members of the Nova fleet. ^[14] The first unit entered passenger service on 30 November 2019.

Fleet details

Class	Operator	Quantity	Year built	Cars per unit	Unit nos.
397	TransPennine Express	12	2017–2019	5	397001–397012

The units were designed as an intercity train. This included the addition of single doors at the ends of the coach, a maximum speed of 125 mph (201 km/h) and first class with catering provision from the on-board galley kitchen. Wi-Fi and seat reservations are also available on the train. These trains were also awarded the Golden Spanner Award for maintenance reliability. ^[5]

Named trains

TPE Class 397 units with special names or liveries

Unit number	Date	Name
397011	3 May 2023	Eurovision 2023 / Welcome to Liverpool [15]

Livery illustration

TransPennine Express Class 397 'Nova 2'

See also

• British Rail Class 195 – A diesel multiple unit variant of the CAF Civity UK platform built for Northern.
• British Rail Class 196 – A diesel multiple unit variant of the CAF Civity UK platform built for West Midlands Trains.
• British Rail Class 197 – A diesel multiple unit variant of the CAF Civity UK platform built for Transport for Wales Rail.
• British Rail Class 331 – An electric multiple unit variant of the CAF Civity UK platform built for Northern.
• British Rail Class 897 – A tri-mode multiple unit variant of the CAF Civity UK platform to be built for London North Eastern Railway.

Notes

1. The authorisation granted in July 2019 permitted single-unit operation only, until such time as testing of pantograph performance in trains of more than one unit confirmed compliance with the relevant Technical Specifications for Interoperability. ^[4]

References

1. Clinnick, Richard (6 September 2017). "First Picture: TransPennine Express Class 397 takes shape in Spain". Rail Magazine . Peterborough: Bauer Consumer Media. Archived from the original on 8 November 2018. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
2. Vosman, Quintus (4 July 2018). "CAF Civity EMU for TransPennine Express on test at Velim". International Railway Journal. Falmouth: Simmons-Boardman Publishing. Archived from the original on 1 September 2018. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
3. "Civity Regional Train for TransPennine Express". Beasain: Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles. Archived from the original on 1 December 2022. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
4. Prosser, Ian (19 July 2019). "The Railways (Interoperability) Regulations 2011, as amended – Authorisation of CAF Class 397 electric multiple units fitted with AWS and TPWS, GSM-R voice only, maximum speed of 125 mph, vehicle numbers 397001 to 397012" (PDF). Letter to Paul Simmons (Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles). London: Office of Rail and Road. UK/51/2019/0007. Archived (PDF) from the original on 27 August 2021. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
5. "Class 397". London: Eversholt Rail Group. Archived from the original on 25 July 2022. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
6. Haigh, Philip (20 July 2016). "Is it time for the railway to standardise on fewer types of trains, to cut costs?". Rail Magazine. No. 805. Peterborough: Bauer Consumer Media.
7. "Our northern stars". Together. No. 3. London: First TransPennine Express. pp. 8–9. Retrieved 3 January 2020– via Issuu.
8. "More New Trains for the North and Scotland". London: First TransPennine Express. 20 May 2016. Archived from the original on 6 September 2017. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
9. "TransPennine Express Class 397 fleet taking shape". Rail UK. Coalville: Rail Media Group. 6 September 2017. Archived from the original on 1 December 2022. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
10. "Nova 2 enters service at last". Rail Business UK. Sutton: DVV Media International. 2 December 2019. Archived from the original on 19 December 2019. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
11. "New TransPennine Express franchise launches". London: First TransPennine Express. 1 April 2016. Archived from the original on 12 June 2016. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
12. Eversheds LLP (22 December 2015). Franchise Agreement – TransPennine Express (Execution Copy) (PDF). London: Department for Transport. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
13. "TransPennine Express' Eurovision train revealed by singing soprano". RailAdvent. 3 May 2023. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
14. "TransPennine Express launches Nova fleet". Rail Business UK. Sutton: DVV Media International. 25 November 2019. Archived from the original on 19 December 2019. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
15. "TransPennine Express' Eurovision train revealed by singing soprano". RailAdvent. 3 May 2023. Retrieved 3 May 2023.

External links

Media related to British Rail Class 397 at Wikimedia Commons