A REVIEW of the TransPennine Express train fleet and operation has seen the operator announce plans to replace the Class 68 locomotive-hauled Nova 3 Mk.5a fleet at the December timetable change – rendering the relatively new trains redundant.
Thirteen five-coach Nova 3 train sets were built by CAF in 2017/18, each set consisting of one First Open coach, three Standard Open coaches and a Driving Brake Standard Open vehicle, with one spare DBSO also provided as part of the order.
To provide traction for the trains, 16 Direct Rail Services Class 68s were modified to operate with the Mk.5a sets and these locomotives, 68019-032, have had TPE’s distinctive silver, blue and purple livery applied. Additionally, 68033/034 were also suitably modified to operate with the Mk.5a coaches, but these are allocated as spare locomotives for the TPE services while still being used in normal traffic by DRS.
The trains were ordered in 2016, while FirstGroup was responsible for the operation of the TPE franchise. However, the original plan to use the Nova 3 sets on up to 11 diagrams each day was never realised, with a number of issues surrounding their introduction, including the pandemic, training, industrial action, and reliability of the trains.
A depot was constructed at Scarborough for the servicing of the Nova 3 fleet. However, complaints by residents about the levels of noise from the Class 68s overnight saw it used only during daytime hours for train servicing. Maintenance work on the fleet has been carried out at Longsight depot in Manchester.
In the face of large numbers of train cancellations, FirstGroup was stripped of the operating licence for TPE on May 28 (Railways Illustrated issue 247), with the Department for Transport’s operator of last resort company, TransPennine Trains Ltd, taking over responsibility.
In a staff briefing seen by Railways Illustrated, TPE’s interim managing director, Chris Jackson, said in late August: “December 2023 provides us with a great opportunity to restore reliability and stability to our services
