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Nova trains on the way

March 15, 2018

More details have been released recently about three new fleets of trains to be introduced by TransPennine Express, two of which will operate through Yorkshire.

The regional express rail operator will be naming the trains Nova 1, Nova 2 and Nova 3.

The first to arrive in autumn this year will be the Nova 3 trains, sets of 5 carriages being built by Spanish company CAF.

The engine will be provided by Class 68 diesel locomotives (like the one pictured, but in TransPennine Express livery).

The trains will operate between Liverpool - Manchester - Huddersfield - Leeds - York then to Middlesbrough or Scarborough. The carriages will have 287 seats compared with the 182 of the present three-carriage units.

The Nova 2 trains are five carriage electric trains arriving early in 2019 and will not operate in Yorkshire. They will operate from Liverpool or Manchester Airport via Preston to Glasgow or Edinburgh. They are again built by Spanish company CAF and have 286 seats.

Nova 1 trains are due to arrive in Summer 2019. The bi-mode, diesel or electric, trains are built by Japanese company Hitachi and are similar to Azuma trains to be introduced on Virgin East Coast services, though with five carriages, a different engine specification and large diesel tanks. These trains will have 342 seats and will operate on the Liverpool - Manchester - Huddersfield - Leeds - York - Newcastle route, which will be extended to Edinburgh.

All the trains will have WiFi, power sockets, electronic seat reservation and space for up to four bicycles.

Pictures: A Class 68 locomotive similar to ones which will haul the new Spanish-built coaches (Yorkshire.guide picture), the TransPennine Express 'tweet' on the Nova 3 carriages (Twitter); and Hitachi building a new train for TransPennine Express (Cropped from original CC BY 3.0)

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