British Rail Class 397

The British Rail Class 397 Civity^[6] is a class of electric multiple unit built by Spanish rolling stock manufacturer CAF for lease to TransPennine Express by Eversholt Rail Group.^[7] A total of twelve five-car units were built to operate services on TransPennine North West services between Liverpool Lime Street/Manchester Airport and Edinburgh Waverley/Glasgow Central.^[8][9]

British Rail Class 397 Civity
Class 397 at Wigan North Western in April 2019
Standard-class interior of a Class 397 unit
Stock type	Electric multiple unit
In service	30 November 2019 – present
Manufacturer	CAF
Built at	Beasain, Spain[1]
Family name	Civity
Replaced	Class 350/4
Constructed	2017–2019
Number built	12
Number in service	12
Formation	5 cars per unit: DMFLW-PTS1-MSL-PTS2-DMSL
Fleet numbers	397001–397012
Capacity	286 seats (22 first-class, 264 standard)[2]
Owners	Eversholt Rail Group
Operators	Current: TransPennine Express Former: First TransPennine Express
Depots	Longsight (Manchester) Polmadie (Glasgow)[1]
Lines served	West Coast Main Line
Specifications
Train length	118 m (387 ft 2 in)[3]
Car length	DM vehicles: 24.026 m (78 ft 9.9 in) Intermediate vehicles: 23.35 m (76 ft 7 in)
Doors	Single-leaf sliding plug (2 per side per car)
Maximum speed	125 mph (200 km/h)
Traction system	CAF Power AC IGBT-VVVF
Acceleration	0.92 m/s2 (3.0 ft/s2)
Electric system(s)	25 kV 50 Hz AC overhead
Current collector(s)	Pantograph
Braking system(s)	Electro-pneumatic (disc) and regenerative
Safety system(s)	AWS TPWS (plus provision for ETCS)[4]
Coupling system	Dellner
Multiple working	Within class, but not yet authorised[a]
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Notes/references
Sourced from [5] unless otherwise noted.

TransPennine Express has branded all of their new fleet under the general name Nova, with the Class 397 units branded as Nova 2.^[7] The first unit entered service on 30 November 2019.^[10]

History

The announcement of new trains was made by FirstGroup when it was confirmed that they would become the next operator of the TransPennine Express franchise from 1 April 2016.^[11] In May 2016 it was announced by TransPennine Express that they had ordered 12 five-car electric multiple units from CAF to replace the fleet of ten four-car Class 350/4 Desiro units which previously operated TransPennine Express services between Liverpool, Manchester and Scotland.^[8]

Testing of the first set began at the Velim railway test circuit in July 2018.^[2]

An option for up to 22 extra units was available to TransPennine Express, but it was not exercised.^[12]

In May 2023, 397011 received special Eurovision branding to celebrate the event taking place in Liverpool.^[13]

Operation

The Nova 2 was launched officially by TPE at Liverpool Lime Street with other members of the Nova fleet.^[14] The first unit entered passenger service on 30 November 2019.

Fleet details

Class	Operator	Quantity	Year built	Cars per unit	Unit nos.
397	TransPennine Express	12	2017–2019	5	397001–397012

The units were designed as an intercity train. This included the addition of single doors at the ends of the coach, a maximum speed of 125 mph (201 km/h) and first class with catering provision from the on-board galley kitchen. Wi-Fi and seat reservations are also available on the train. These trains were also awarded the Golden Spanner Award for maintenance reliability.^[5]

Named trains

TPE Class 397 units with special names or liveries

Unit number	Date	Name
397011	3 May 2023	Eurovision 2023 / Welcome to Liverpool[15]

Livery illustration

TransPennine Express Class 397 'Nova 2'

See also

• British Rail Class 195 - A diesel multiple unit variant of the CAF Civity UK platform built for Northern.
• British Rail Class 196 - A diesel multiple unit variant of the CAF Civity UK platform built for West Midlands Trains.
• British Rail Class 197 - A diesel multiple unit variant of the CAF Civity UK platform built for Transport for Wales Rail.
• British Rail Class 331 - An electric multiple unit variant of the CAF Civity UK platform built for Northern.
• British Rail Class 897 - A tri-mode multiple unit variant of the CAF Civity UK platform to be built for London North Eastern Railway.

Notes

1. The authorisation granted in July 2019 permitted single-unit operation only, until such time as testing of pantograph performance in trains of more than one unit confirmed compliance with the relevant Technical Specifications for Interoperability.^[4]