British Rail Class 756

British Rail Class 756 FLIRT
Class 756 unit at Aberdare in November 2024
Interior of a Class 756 unit
In service	15 November 2024-Present [1]
Manufacturer	Stadler Rail
Assembly	Stadler Bussnang AG
Built at	Bussnang, Switzerland [2]
Family name	FLIRT
Replaced	Class 150 Class 153 Class 769
Constructed	2021–2023 [3]
Number built	24 [1] (7 × 756/0, 17 × 756/1)
Formation	3-car units: [a] DMS-PP-PTSW-DMS 4-car units: [a] DMS-PTS-PP-PTSW-DMS
Fleet numbers	756/0: 756001–756007 756/1: 756101–756117 [3]
Capacity	3-car: 118 seats, plus 24 tip-up & 148 standees 4-car: 158 seats, plus 32 tip-up & 204 standees
Owners	SMBC Leasing [4] and Equitix [5]
Operators	Transport for Wales Rail
Depots	Canton (Cardiff)
Specifications
Car body construction	Aluminium
Train length	3-car: 65.0 m (213 ft 3 in) 4-car: 80.7 m (264 ft 9 in)
Width	Passenger vehicles: 2.720 m (8 ft 11.1 in) Power Pack: 2.822 m (9 ft 3.1 in) [6]
Height	3.915 m (12 ft 10.1 in)
Floor height	960 mm (3 ft 2 in)
Doors	Double-leaf sliding plug, each 1.300 m (4 ft 3.2 in) wide (total 5 per side per 3-car, 7 per side per 4-car)
Wheel diameter	Powered: 870 mm (34 in) Unpowered: 760 mm (30 in)
Wheelbase	Bogies: 2.700 m (8 ft 10.3 in)
Maximum speed	75 mph (121 km/h)
Traction system	IGBT
Power output	On AC power: 2,600 kW (3,500 hp) On battery power: 1,300 kW (1,700 hp) On diesel power: 480 kW (640 hp)
Tractive effort	Maximum starting: 200 kN (45,000 lbf)
Acceleration	Maximum starting: 1.1 m/s2 (2.5 mph/s)
Electric system(s)	25 kV 50 Hz AC overhead
Current collection	Pantograph
UIC classification	3-car: Bo′2′2′2′Bo′ 4-car: Bo′2′2′2′2′Bo′
Safety system(s)	AWS TPWS (plus provision for ETCS)
Multiple working	Within class (max. 2 units)
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Notes/references
Sourced from [7] unless otherwise noted.

The British Rail Class 756 FLIRT ^[8] is a class of tri-mode multiple units built for Transport for Wales Rail by Swiss rolling stock manufacturer Stadler Rail. They are closely related to the Class 755 bi-mode units delivered by Stadler to Greater Anglia between 2018 and 2020, which can be powered either by overhead electric lines or on-board diesel generators. The Class 756 units also carry batteries as an additional source of traction power. ^[9]

A total of 24 units were built, split between 7 three-car units and 17 four-car units. ^[1]

History

The Wales & Borders rail franchise, awarded to KeolisAmey Wales with effect from 14 October 2018, included a commitment requiring that the operator oversee a full fleet replacement during the franchise period. ^[10] As part of this process, KeolisAmey placed an order with Stadler in February 2019 for the 24 FLIRT tri-mode units that came to be designated Class 756. The tri-mode capabilities are intended to facilitate operations over lines that have only been partially electrified. Production of the fleet was underway by mid-2021. ^[2]

The Class 756 officially entered service on 18 November 2024, and for consecutive days, ^[11] after initially entering service on one previous day of 15 November 2024. ^[1]

Operators

Transport for Wales

Transport for Wales Rail Class 756 units currently operate services between Cardiff-Merthyr Tydfil, Cardiff-Aberdare and Cardiff-Treherbert. ^[1]

It is expected that the Class 756 units will move across to the Rhymney Line from late 2025 as the Class 398 tram-trains enter service. ^[12]

Technical details

Class 756 units have three or four passenger vehicles, along with a separate "Power Pack" vehicle near the centre of the unit that contains a diesel generator set and three battery modules. ^[13] The diesel generator produces 480 kW (640 hp), while the batteries are capable of supplying up to 1,300 kW (1,700 hp). ^[7] All vehicles are linked by unpowered Jacobs bogies, while the outermost bogie at each end of each unit carries the traction motors. ^[7]

The batteries use Lithium-titanium-oxide chemistry, with the capacity of 447 kWh for 3-car units and 559 kWh for 4-car units. ^[14]

Fleet details

Subclass	Operator	Qty.	Year built	Passenger cars	Unit nos. [3]
756/0	Transport for Wales Rail	7	2021–2023	3	756001–756007
756/1		17		4	756101–756117

Illustration

Illustration of a four-car Class 756 unit (based on concept art)

See also

• British Rail Class 231 - A diesel multiple unit variant of the Stadler FLIRT UK platform also built for Transport for Wales Rail.
• British Rail Class 745 - An electric multiple unit variant of the Stadler FLIRT UK platform built for Greater Anglia.
• British Rail Class 755 - A bi-mode multiple unit variant of the Stadler FLIRT UK platform built for Greater Anglia.

Notes

1. The Power Pack is technically a fourth or fifth vehicle in these units, but as it contains no passenger accommodation it is excluded from the count of passenger cars.

References

1. @todaysrailways (15 November 2024). "Another new class in service from today - two @tfwrail tri-mode Class 756s are in traffic on the Cardiff-Merthyr Tydfil and Cardiff-Aberdare routes - 4-cars 756107 and 756116. There are seven 3-cars and 17 4-cars in this fleet built by Stadler. 📷 TfW" (Tweet). Retrieved 15 November 2024– via Twitter.
2. "Testing Begins on New FLIRTs for TfW". Railvolution. Praha: Railway Public s.r.o. 29 July 2021. Archived from the original on 2 August 2021. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
3. Pritchard, Robert (2022). British Railways Pocket Book No. 4: Electric Multiple Units (36th ed.). Sheffield: Platform 5 Publishing. pp. 132–133. ISBN   978-1-909-43183-6.
4. "Time to take stock as the 'bubble' bursts…". Rail Magazine . No. 989. 9 August 2023. pp. 42–47.
5. "Case Study: Wales & Borders – Commercial and Contract Management". Apex Rail. Retrieved 27 August 2025.
6. Bi-Mode Multiple Unit - FLIRT - Greater Anglia, UK (PDF). Bussnang: Stadler Rail Group. 27 August 2018. FEABMU0819e. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 October 2023. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
7. FLIRT Trimodal Multiple Unit - Transport for Wales (PDF). Bussnang: Stadler Rail Group. 6 September 2022. FWBBMU0922e. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 October 2023. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
8. Transport for Wales Rail [@tfwrail] (2 December 2019). "Lastly, our innovative tri-mode Metro trains which will enter service on the Rhymney, Coryton & Vale of Glamorgan lines in 2023, will be Class 756" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
9. "Tri-mode trains launch South Wales Metro electric services". Railway Gazette International. 27 November 2024. Retrieved 12 January 2025.
10. "KeolisAmey reveal new-look Wales trains and services". BBC News. British Broadcasting Corporation. 4 June 2018. Archived from the original on 27 January 2021. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
11. "Britain's first Tri-mode trains enter service in Wales". RailAdvent. 18 November 2024. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
12. "First electric trains to be introduced to South Wales Metro". Transport For Wales News. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
13. Fender, Keith; Sherratt, Philip (20 September 2022). "Stadler shows trains for the UK at InnoTrans". Modern Railways. Stamford: Key Publishing. Archived from the original on 20 September 2022. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
14. "Class 756 battery chemistry - a Freedom of Information request to Transport for Wales Rail Limited". WhatDoTheyKnow. 8 May 2025. Retrieved 7 June 2025.