TfW report on new trains entering service
We see a report in June from TfW about new trains coming to service. This is a report on all TfW services and not just our line. You can see it here: https://news.tfw.wales/blog/cyflwyno-ein-trenau-newydd-cwestiynau-cyffredin There are no surprises here. 175s are gone and 150s are going as they come up for major repiars. The new 197s are coming into service and they are promising to run South Wales-Manchester services to five carriages on every train in the next year. Most trains have been either two or three carriages for many years.The loco hauled mk4 coach trains are getting more reliable.
Class 175 withdrawn
We see that TfW has sent the Class 175 units off hire from mid October 2023. They are returned to their owner Angel Trains for redeployment. Some have gone to Ilford, and others are in store in Wales. Their future is uncertain. Angel Trains promotion is here: https://angeltrains.co.uk/fleet/class-175/
News on TfW rolling stock
In the October issue of Modern Railways there is some information on the TfW rolling stock. It is reported that: Class 197s 77 units on order, 32 units accepted by early September, ongoing into service one per week Class 153 30 in fleet, 26 in service, 13 to be retained long term for HoW etc Class 150 38 units in service, all to leave by mid 2025, including 2 from Northern. Class 158 24 units in fleet, all in service Class 175 27 units (2 and 3 cars) 17 in service, all to go by end 2023 Mk4 and 67 […]
Class 197 in revenue service
We have seen Class 197s in revenue earning service today on the Shrewsbury Crewe section. A three car unit operated the shuttle all day and then a 2×2 car unit operated a Cardiff Manchester diagram. Lets us hope this is not a one off. TfW may have entered a new phase.
Class 175s needing maintenance
The Class 175s have been the mainstay of long distance services from Manchester to South Wales for a very long time. The plan is that they are phased out in mid 2023, replaced with the new Class 197s. However the gremlins have struck. Following three “thermal events” in quick succession, TfW has taken the bulk of the units out of service since early March pending inspection.”Thermal event” means a fire, in this case in the engine compartment. We see reports that the problem is a build up of debris. But it is taking time to get the inspection of the […]
TfW are in trouble with rolling stock
Last week was a gruesome week for TfW. We spent some time looking at the RealTimeTrains web pages for our route, and extracted the information from last weeks working. There are 56 services each day and 16 of these we would recognise as shuttles from Crewe to Shrewsbury and return. 40 are intercity train, with 16 ‘booked’ as Mk4 coach trains. The highest number of services operated by Mk4s was Friday when it was 5. Mostly it is only one or two each day. The replacement stock provided on these services is two car 150 or 2x153s. Generally 175s are […]
First running of loco hauled services
TfW have for the first time today operated the long promised loco hauled services from Cardiff to Manchester. These sets were seen on two trains to Manchester and two returning to Cardiff. These are timetabled for numerous daily services, and CASPA welcomes this role out. These services are similar to Gerald Cardiff to Holyhead services that have operated for some years. The coaches seen today are in dark blue livery. These were intended for the Grand Central service to (London to Blackpool) since abandoned. We can expect to see coaches in various liveries. The loco hauls the train to Manchester […]
TfW trains stock
We see in March that TfW are running their new long distance trains class 197s on test and training runs between Crewe and Shrewsbury. This is very welcome. It was announced that the first 30 units of the fleet have been approved for passenger service by the Office of Rail and Road. There are a total of 77 units on order. The 14 units with first class seating are not included in the first batch. All this is very welcome news, but we should not get too excited. It is unlikely that we will see these units on our services […]
Transport for Wales (TfW) announce completion of refurbishing Class 175 trains.
Transport for Wales (TfW) has announced the completion of work to refurbish its fleet of Class 175 long-distance trains. These are the sets we usually see on the Cardiff Manchester services. It has been a feature of recent services that only 2 coach sets have been used on some services instead of the expected 3 coach sets. Train manufacturer Alstom has been working to refurbish the 27 trains at their Technology Centre in Widnes, Cheshire. This has been going on since 2019. The trains have also been rebranded on the outside with TfW’s grey and red livery. Internal work included […]
Progress on new trains for TfW
There is some news in recent railway press about the new trains intended for our line. Modern Railways has some information this month and Railcolournews has an item https://railcolornews.com/2021/04/19/uk-dmu-for-wales-first-caf-civity-diesel-train-delivered/?fbclid=IwAR29nG06iLtvRD7QyOpPajT9P74MbNgOQ6pQZIzFSl5AmvZlNEoMJugY4Jc The good news is that CAF have outshopped the first two of the 197 sets in Newport and these are undergoing testing. It is reported that the first unit 197001 is in Crewe. There are 77 two and three car sets to build. Some of these are intended for the long distance services for our line. There is to be a sub group of 14 three car sets with first […]