It seems that a new home has finally been confirmed for the Alstom Class 175 Coradia 1000 trains – and they’re heading to the Great Western Railway (GWR).
Class 175/1 and a Class 175/1 in the rear – Image, Great Western Railway
GWR will take on the entire class, comprising of 26 trains. This is split into 10 two-car trains and 16 three-car trains. GWR currently have two 175/0 (two car trains) and 1 175/1 in their fleet for testing and training.
The trains are being introduced to help improve punctuality and reliability for customers, replacing older diesel trains that are more expensive and less environmentally friendly to run.
The move marks the first stage of the train operator’s plans to rejuvenate its regional and suburban services while preparing the way for decarbonisation.
The “new” trains are expected to start to enter service in Devon and Cornwall later this year, with the entire fleet expected to be operational from the end of next year. The trains will operate predominantly on the line between Exeter St Davids and Penzance, as well as to Barnstaple and Okehampton, being able to work in four, five and six-car formations, as well as in their two/three car configrtations.
The Class 175s will release trains to improve performance in other areas of the network, whilst allowing the removal of some of its oldest and least efficient diesel trains, which have become more expensive to maintain as spare parts become more difficult to find on the open market.
GWR Managing Director, Mark Hopwood, said:
“The benefits of these trains will be felt by customers across the whole of the GWR network. With more trains we will have more scope to increase resilience where it is needed most, delivering the reliability our communities deserve and need.
“They are a fantastic addition to our fleet and will provide a welcome boost as we seek to rejuvenate our regional and suburban services.
“We’d like to thank our industry partners, and the Department for Transport, for helping us get to this point and we look forward to welcoming the trains into service later this year.”
Chair of the Peninsula Rail Taskforce, Councillor Andrea Davis, said:
“Rail services are a big part of our climate change and economic development offer, and we have been campaigning for extra rolling stock for some time.
“It is also great to hear that the additional trains will mean improvements to services elsewhere across the GWR network, but I am especially delighted with the news for Devon and Cornwall.”
A new home for a working fleet
Since being sidelined by Transport for Wales, the Class 175 fleet has been sidelined for a year or so as new work was found for these comparatively modern untils (built between 1999 and 2001 by Alstom Birmingham).
Since their introduction, they have operated primarily in Wales, as well as the Northwest of England. They were initially ordered by North West Trains (upgrading some of the locomotive hauled trains that operated to Holyhead), then operated by First North Western, Arriva Trains Wales, KeolisAmey Rail and finally by the publicly owned operater Transport for Wales Rail.
They’ve gone through interior refurbishment too – you can find out what they were like in 2019 when I went to Ireland with one.
Train cabin
USB-A and mains outlets.
Seat details
I’ve liked these trains since they were introduced – even if they have some nasty habits.
It’s good to see that these trains have found new home – given that high-quality diesel multiple units seem to be only have “just enough” ordered (with CAF picking up a lot of wins recently).
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