‘New era’ heralded as brand new Transport for Wales trains arrive
Transport for Wales have heralded a “new era” with the arrival of brand-new trains that they say will provide more capacity and improved services for Transport for Wales passengers.
£800 million is being invested in new trains for the Wales and borders network by Transport for Wales, who were nationalised by the Welsh Government last year.
The first two brand new trains from train manufacturer Stadler have now been delivered to the TfW depot at Canton, in Cardiff, for testing.
The new Class 231 FLIRT trains arrived in Wales from Switzerland and are the first of 35 to be delivered over the next 24 months from Stadler.
The FLIRTs will be part of the South Wales Metro, the three quarters of billion-pound project which aims to provide more capacity and more frequent services that will be greener for the environment.
Lee Waters, Deputy Minister for Climate Change said that the new trains were a “transformational improvement on the trains that they will be replacing across South Wales”.
He added that they will be “offering greater capacity, more frequent services with improved facilities encouraging people to leave their cars behind and move onto a more sustainable form of transport”.
‘Proud’
James Price, Transport for Wales CEO said that the arrival of the brand-new trains was “another major milestone” for Transport for Wales and “signifies another step forward on our transformational programme to deliver a transport network that the people of Wales can be proud of”.
“We’re investing £800 million into new trains that will provide more capacity on our network, they will have more and improved seating, provide air conditioning, power sockets and passenger information screens with up-to-the- minute travel information,” he said.
“The customer is at the heart of our planning at TfW and these trains will have more space for bikes, people with limited mobility and pushchairs.
“People will now start to see some of our new trains being tested on our network and we’re looking forward to seeing the first new units enter service for customers next year.”
Sandro Muster, Project Manager for Stadler, said: “The arrival of the first unit in Cardiff is a momentous occasion for everyone involved in the project. Not only Stadler, but our client, Transport for Wales, and above all, the people who will soon be travelling on them. Passengers will notice a massive difference in the ride quality, the comfort and the attention to detail.
“We will now embark on an extensive programme of testing to ensure that they are ready for commercial service. Every aspect of the train, from their on-board features to energy consumption trials, noise levels and signalling, will be scrutinised rigorously.”
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I think you mean nationalised, not privatised.
How many coaches will these new trains have?
8 – 2 attached to the train and 6 left in the depot!
Diesel/Electric (which the photo is an example of) are 11 x 4 car
Diesel/electric and OHW (which are identical bar for the overhead pantograph) are 17 x 4 car plus 7 x 3 car units.
In addition for the wider network there are 51×2 car and 26×3 car 197s and specifically for the Treherbert, Aberdare and Merthyr lines there are 36x 3 car units.
See more at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transport_for_Wales_Rail_Limited and scroll to future fleet. (There are also a few cascades/second hand units too)
ANd will we see any of these in North Wales – because we pay the same taxes as those in the South and see sod all for it???
Yes, North Wales are getting brand new trains as well in the form of CAF class 197 trains, as well as sets of loco hauled trains with 5 carriages each and dining cars
Your brand new trains are already here and in testing Chris. They’re being assembled in Newport and the first ones started testing in May.
https://nation.cymru/news/first-brand-new-transport-for-wales-trains-being-put-through-their-paces/
You seem to forget the north has a quarter the population of the south and no major cities so you can’t expect to get exactly the same!
It’s great that all this is happening in the south east of Wales and yet more investment for Cardiff etc,etc where most of the money is spent anyway. What about the rest of Wales which in main is rural. So not much chance of a Wales wide metro system. Don’t even mention buses and let’s be honest public transport is very unreliable and expensive. I know things need to change regarding having less fossil fuel ran transport, however make sure we have a cost effective reliable alternative first. Also the Welsh government needs to stop preaching at everyone who has… Read more »
Until 1986 Wales enjoyed a comprehensive and extensive nationalised bus service with most of Wales being geographically served by National Bus Company Crosville Cymru which also integrated with rail services run by a nationalised British Rail. Both public transport modes provided affordable travel though both were starved of investment. After Thatcher’s bus deregulation the various regional companies owned by the National Bus Company were sold off and privatised and fierce competition ensued in a race to the bottom that saw all unprofitable routes abandoned and much of rural Wales ending up with a crazily unviable bus service where local authorities… Read more »
With the Stagecoach fiasco I wouldn’t mind see the buses nationalised… I wouldn’t mind at all. It cannot be more unreliable, expensive and exploitative with their employees as it is now.
Bus passes did not help. We get what we pay for. I would suggest those small Mercedes buses, comfortable, reliable and cheaper to run on rural routes.
What do they look like inside? That is what’s most important to most of us!