British Rail Mark 5A

The British Rail Mark 5A is the designation given to locomotive-hauled rail carriages built by Spanish manufacturer CAF for operation with TransPennine Express.[4] The carriages first entered service on 24 August 2019.

This article is about the coaches built for TransPennine Express. For the Caledonian Sleeper coaches, see British Rail Mark 5 (CAF). For the planned vehicles for the InterCity 250 project, see British Rail Mark 5 (InterCity 250).
British Rail Mark 5A
TransPennine Express Mk5A set at Lancaster
In service24 August 2019 - Present
ManufacturerCAF
Built atBeasain[1]
Constructed2017 - 2018
Number built66
Capacity291 seats (261 standard, 30 first class)[2]
Operator(s)TransPennine Express
Line(s) servedNorth TransPennine
Specifications
Car body constructionFully integral aluminium monocoque
Car length22.37 m (73 ft 5 in)[3]
Width2.75 m (9 ft 0 in)
DoorsSliding plug, at body ends
Maximum speed125 mph (201 km/h)[3]
Weightmax. tare 43 t (42 long tons; 47 short tons)
Braking system(s)Cheek mounted discs
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Notes
Transpennine Express coaches

Description

It was first announced by TransPennine Express in 2016 that they were to procure 126 new vehicles from CAF, which included 66 Mark 5A locomotive-hauled coaches. They would be formed into 13 five-carriage sets, hauled by Class 68 locomotives. This equates to 65 coaches for total service, with the 66th coach being a spare Driving Trailer.[5]

TPE set of Class 68 with Mark 5 coaches, on a test run.

The sets are currently used on services between Liverpool and Scarborough and they will eventually work services between Manchester Airport and Redcar Central.[6] Each set is composed of 1 first class carriage with guards area and catering provision, 1 standard class carriage with PRM toilet, 2 standard class carriages and a standard class Driving Trailer (DT). In October 2016, production started on these coaches,[7] and in March 2017, CAF and TPE released a photo of the first completed bodyshell.[8]

The first completed rake was sent for testing at Velim railway test circuit in March 2018,[9] the second set being delivered straight to the UK in May 2018 via Portbury ahead of their planned entry into service in the autumn of that year.[10][11] TransPennine Express have branded their new trains under the general name Nova, with the Class 68 + Mark 5A combination given the name Nova 3.[12]

In April 2019, the first Nova 3 set was officially handed over from CAF to TPE, after a mandatory period of fault-free running.[13]

Operation

The first set entered service on 24 August 2019 between Liverpool Lime Street and Scarborough. [14] As of December 2019, there are 4 sets used daily on these services, though all 13 sets of Mark 5A coaches and the spare Driving trailer (12814) are now in the UK with 8 of the 13 sets having now made their debuts in passenger service.

The Nova 3 was officially launched on 25 November 2019 at Liverpool Lime Street station alongside other members of the new Nova fleet.[15]

References
  1. "Countdown to New Trains Begins - First TransPennine Express". www.tpexpress.co.uk.
  2. "TPE Nova 3". www.tpexpress.co.uk.
  3. "FIRST GROUP TRANSPENNINE PASSENGER CARS". CAF. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
  4. Pritchard, Robert (March 2017). "Rolling Stock Update". Today's Railways (183): 38–43.
  5. Clinnick, Richard (25 April 2018). "Testing...testing...". Rail Magazine. No. 851. Peterborough: Bauer Media. p. 62. ISSN 0953-4563.
  6. James, Robin (November 2018). "Changing Times at Transpennine Express". Today's Railways. No. 203. Sheffield: Platform 5. p. 38. ISSN 1475-9713.
  7. "TransPennine Express coach production begins". Railway Gazette International. 27 October 2016. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
  8. "CAF and TPE reveal first Mark 5A bodyshell". Global Rail News. 7 March 2017. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  9. "First Trans-Pennine Express Mk 5A coaches head to Velim". 12 March 2018. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  10. "First TransPennine Express Mk 5As arrive in UK". Rail Magazine. 29 May 2018. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
  11. "First TPE modified Class 68s sent to Spain for initial testing".
  12. "TransPennine Express - Together February 2018". Issuu.
  13. "First TransPennine Express Nova 3 train handed over". Rail Engineer. 13 April 2019. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
  14. UK railway news round-up Railway Gazette International 29 August 2019
  15. 2019-11-25T10:11:00+00:00. "TransPennine Express launches Nova fleet". Railway Gazette International. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
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