Thedriving cabofaClass 195.A331 cabdesk is similar,which allows driversto work
bothtypes of unit. ld and newunits side-by-side at Preston on June 26.
Thefirst servicetobeworkedby aNorthern
Class 195wasthe 04.53 Barrow-in-Furness-
ManchesterAirport, formed of unit
No.195116. Here, it has arrivedat Manchester
OxfordRoad on July 1.TONY MILES
Passengersusing Northern serviceshaveendured a
torrid time,travelling in trainswhichare overcrowded
andpasttheir ‘best by’date. On July 1, thefirst ofafleet
of 101Class195 and331 trains wasintroduced, which
is expect ed to star tand alleviate some of theproblems.
Chris Milnersamplesbothtrains.
F
OR several years, passengers havetaken
the promisefrom Governmentandthe
rail industr y‘Pacers’ will be replaced’
with apinch of salt.With severaldelays
and false starts,who can blamethem?However,
the realityist hat the ‘Pacer’replacement
programmehas fi nallybegun.
On July1,North ern(afranchiseoperated
by Arriva) introduced itsnewClass 195 DMU
and Class 331 EMU on to ninedia grams.
When the invitationto tenderforthe next
Northernfranchiseperiod from April 2016
was issued, it was stipulatedthenew franchisee
had toreplacethe Class142/144‘Pacer’ fleet.
Not only weretheylifeexpired,butbyt he end
of 2019 theywould nolonger meet changing
disabilityregulations.Ina ddition,passengers
have higher aspirati onsinrespect of traintravel,
and expectand deservebetter. The new trains
begintomeetthis.
Arrivatook the view the poorquality
‘Pacer’stock isan obstacleto enticingnew
passengersover to rail, and byinvesting in
new modern trains it would act asacatalyst for
passengergrowth.
New fleets–not only for Northern, but
introduced intoother franchises aswell –
would alsopermit acascade ofother unitsto
Northern,soastos tren gthening servicesin a
bid tocombatsomeoft he cancellationsand
overcrowding that has been at the forefront of
tran sportnewsinthe northfortoo long.
Net gain
These cascaded units–Classes 150,156,
158 and170–aregettingatotal refurbishment
(as areNorthern’s Class 155 and 333 units),
and the transformation of thesewillbethe
topic ofafuturefeature inTheRM.
In January2016, aheadoftakingover the
franchise in April,Arri va Northernconfirmed
to CAFanorder for 101 new electricanddiesel
trains.Theorder,worth £500million, with
financepro vided by Eversholt,wasformedof
23 two-and33three-carDMUsand 31 three-
and 12 four-car EMUs,all based onCAF’s
‘Civity’ platform.Atotal of 281 vehicles to
replacethe 214inthe ‘Pacer’fleet, anet gain
of 67 vehicles.
CAF waschosenbyArriva as they were
the only manufacturer ableto produce both
new dieselandelectric multiple unitsusing the
same platform. Thiswill provide familiarity for
drivers andreduce maintenance costs.
Both the driving and trailer cars for the
195 and331 fleetsare of identicalexternal
30 •TheRailway Magazine•August2019
NEWSTOCKFOCUS
CLASS 195 DMUs
AND331 EMUs