Testing of the first TfW Rail Class 398 tram-train will begin at the Rail Innovation & Development Centre in Melton, Leicestershire in the coming weeks after the first unit was delivered to the UK.
Stadler is building 36 three-car Citylink tram-trains that will operate on the Core Valley Line (CVL) routes to Treherbert, Merthyr Tydfil, Aberdare and the Cardiff Bay branch. They will also operate on-street running on a short new line to Flourish.
The Class 398s are being built in Valencia, Spain, by Stadler and feature both electric and battery power. They will be maintained at a new depot at Taff’s Well, which is currently under construction, and are due to enter traffic from next year.
The 40-metre-long Class 398s will have a maximum speed of 62mph and will feature 2+2 unidirectional and facing seating.
Stadler is also constructing 11 four-car Class 231 diesel electric multiple units, of which six have so far been delivered, and 24 tri-mode Class 756s that will have battery, electric and diesel power. Seven of those will be four-car sets, the rest five-car trains.
TfW has a further 77 two and three-car Class 197 diesel multiple units being delivered by CAF, the first of which are expected to enter service this year.
- Inside Track 6, due to be published on June 3, features an interview with TfW’s James Price.
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