The Railway Magazine – August 2019

First dayofs ervic efor

the 331s: No.331106isat

South ElmsallonJuly 1

with the15.21 Leeds-

Doncaster.MIKE HADDON

Thewheelchair and buggy spaceisnexttot he train’s

one accessibletoilet on each set.

Thefully accessible lavatory on the Class 195s are

large and spacious,but only one is provided per set.

versions of Northern’s legacyfleets, so giving

amoreofauniform appearance rather than a

mish-mash of stylesandcolours.

The carriages have no vinyl flooring, but

Wilton carpets, which areins hades of blue.

The vestibule ends in black, thewhole package

blending togethernicely.

Whiletheseats areafar cr yfromthe bus

seats ona‘Pacer’, although moreupright,

they were comfortable foratest journey
from Preston to Manchester onthe195 and

Doncaster to Leeds on the 331.

Reference hasbeen made to the firmness

of seats on newtrains, buthavingridden again

recentlyon aClass700 and800, perhapsthis

was becausethey were new,and now afteruse,

the paddinghas alittle more 'give'.It’s alla

matter of opinion.

Charging

Seat pitchwas measured at 30-31cm,

and importantly,the majorityalign with

the windowstogiveagood travelling

experience.PA announcementswere clear

and comprehensive and used authentic voices

with, it appeared,avarietyof Northerndialects

rather than the synthesised voice styles. Again,

awelcome touch.

Below eachseat is a13ampsocket for

char ging devices, the sets have free wi-fi,

and ineach carriage arereal-time passenger

informationdisplays thatshow thedestination,

nextstation,which sidetoexit, as well as the

date,time andtemperature. Air conditioning
works well.

Luggage rackshave transparent bases

to reduce therisk of passengers leaving

items,andare deepenough to accept airline

carry-on sized suitcases. Intheareawherethe

pantograph is, there’s no overheadrack asthe

ceiling is lower.

Thereiso nly one toilet perunit –three- or

four-car–and this is of theaccessible type, but

hopefully they will not fail in service.

Door vestibuleareas arewide so allowing

anumber of standees, andtip-up seatscanbe

found inthearea.

Unusually,abovetheseats areelectronic

reservationpanels, with seatreservation

may be something for the futureonlonger

distance diagrams. As for the ride of the sets,

whileoverallitw as excellent, therewas some

noticeablebogie‘rattle’ from both typesof

unit, moreevident when sitting abovethe

wheels. This noiseismorelikelytobedown to

the track condition.

Whilethe accelerationonthe electric

Class 331swas smooth and impressive, the

intrusivenessofthe diesel engineon the

Class 195swas als omuch less noticeable

than on second-generation DMUs, doubtless

helpedby better soundproofing and quieter

engines.

Power on the 195 comes from

aRolls-Royce MTU 6H1800R85L engine

producing 523hp, with the transmission

throughaZFEcolife gearbox. There’sone

engine per carriage.

The delay in getting thenewstock into

traffic, crews trained and general snagging will

see ‘Pacer’s continuein service into 2020 with

aderogation–despite intentions toridClass

142/144s from thenetworkby December 31

(see Headline News story).

The first ‘Pacers’ areexpected to be

withdrawninAugust (Septemberat the

latest), whichis 12 months behind theoriginal

schedule.

From July 1, Northernintroducedseven

dieselunit diagrams between Manchester

Airportand Liverpool,Windermereand

Barrow-in-Furness, andtwoEMU diagrams

between Leeds and Doncaster. Over the

comingmonths,these willbei ncreased as

morenew units areacceptedfor se rvice and

drivers and guards aretrainedonthem.

While passengershave waitedalongtime

for the ‘Pacer’replacement, the fullroll-out of

the new trains will takemorethan 12 months

to achieve,but first impressionsarethe wait

will bewell worth it. ■

August2019 •TheRailway Magazine•33