Northern’s Pacer replacement multiple-units under construction

UK: The first of the Civity UK multiple-units ordered for Arriva’s Northern franchise in northern England are now under construction at CAF’s factories at Irun and Zaragoza in Spain.

The 25 two-car and 30 three-car Class 195 diesel multiple-units and 31 three-car and 12 four-car 25 kV 50 Hz Class 331 electric multiple-units were ordered by leasing company Eversholt Rail at a cost of £492m in January 2016. The DMUs are to be used on Northern Connect branded services, facilitating a cascade of existing rolling stock which Northern confirms will enable the ‘complete removal’ of the 1980s Class 14x Pacer DMUs from the franchise by the end of 2019.

The first of the new units is expected to be completed this autumn, and will go to the Velim test track in the Czech Republic next year. An initial unit is expected arrive in the UK in spring 2018, with SNC Lavalin providing certification services. Entry into service is scheduled for December 2018, with all 98 units are expected to be in traffic by 2020.

According to the operator, the design of the units is ‘substantially different to the specification Northern’s customers have experienced historically’. The aluminium-bodied units will have an open gangway design to give a spacious feel, with the doors at one-third and two-third postions along the bodyside. There will be air-conditioning, CCTV, power sockets at each pair of seats, free wi-fi and TFT screens systems linked to the Darwin train running database to give up-to-the-minute passenger information. Passengers will be able to reserve seats both before and during the train journey.

The DMUs will have 390 kW Rolls-Royce MTU Series 1800 PowerPacks with 6H 1800 R85L engines. These will comply with EU Stage IIIB emissions regulations, using built-in selective catalytic reduction to reduce the amount of nitrogen oxide produced.

‘This is a once in a generation chance to significantly improve the quality of rail services in the North’, said Northern’s Head of Trains, Ian Hyde. ‘The introduction of these units will contribute to increasing our fleet and our overall capacity, bringing more flexibility and allowing us to offer more and faster services’

‘We have been working hard and very closely with Arriva Northern and Eversholt to ensure CAF delivers a design of train that satisfies their requirements and expectations’, said Jose María Muguruza, CAF’s UK Project Manager. ‘The aim is to have reliable trains with a high performance and an aesthetic design to provide the best possible service to the passengers.’