New blow for rail operator Northern as fault halts training on new flagship trains
The company, which avoided a fine this week by the Office of Rail Regulation over last May’s timetable chaos, has revealed that there is a problem with its flagship new build trains.
It is investing £580m in a stable of 98 new electric and diesel trains with 281 carriages.
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Hide AdTesting started on UK tracks late last year but now it has been revealed that all training has been halted after a fault had been found linked to coupling bars.
The trains and carriages are being built by manufacturer CAF at its factories in Irun and Zaragoza, Spain and will be owned by Eversholt Rail.
A spokesman for Northern said: “Over recent weeks, we have been putting our brand new trains through their testing programme before bringing them into service for customers during 2019.
“We have also been training our drivers on the new trains. During the testing, we identified a small mechanical design issue that requires a fix before we resume the testing and driver training. We are already working on the solution and will be back on track with our testing and training soon.
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Hide Ad“During 2019, our customers will see new and refurbished trains across our network. These trains - along with improvements in stations and services - will provide a much better experience for our customers.”
He added that the set-back should not have any affect on the May timetable due for release next week.
There will be 43 electric and 55 diesels all with free Wifi and power sockets plus digital information screens for passengers.