The British Rail Class 231[7] is a class of eleven diesel-electric multiple units of the FLIRT family, which have been built for Transport for Wales by Swiss rolling stock manufacturer Stadler Rail. The first units entered service on 18 January 2023.[1]
History
The previous Wales & Borders rail franchise operator, KeolisAmey Wales ordered the new trains. Although KeolisAmey was removed as the franchise operator and replaced by an operator of last resort Transport for Wales Rail, owned by the Welsh Government, the scheduled full fleet replacement continued.[8][9]
The units began testing in Switzerland in July 2021 and in November 2021 the first two units were delivered to Cardiff Canton depot.[10]
Operators
Transport for Wales
The Class 231 units are currently used for services on the Rhymney line and the Vale of Glamorgan Line. They mostly operate between Rhymney/Bargoed and Barry Island from Mondays to Saturdays, and between Rhymney/Caerphilly and Barry Island on Sundays.[11]
Sometimes they operate on other valleys lines as well such as the Merthyr/Aberdare Lines, the City Line and the Treherbert Line.
It is expected that they will operate the following services from around late 2025 or early 2026:
- Maesteg to/from Ebbw Vale Town via Cardiff
- Newport to/from Ebbw Vale Town
- Cardiff Central to/from Cheltenham Spa.
The official revenue launch of the Class 231 took place on 29 March 2023 at Caerphilly.[12]
Technical details
Class 231 units have four passenger vehicles, along with a separate "Power Pack" vehicle at the centre of the unit that contains four diesel generator sets. The diesel generators comply with EU Stage V emissions regulations. All vehicles are linked by unpowered Jacobs bogies, while the outermost bogie at each end of each unit carries the traction motors.[6]
TfW are planning to convert their 231 units to hybrid units and have mobilised a project team to support the implementation of the conversion with Stadler.[13]
Fleet details
| Subclass | Operator | Qty. | Year built | Passenger cars | Unit nos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 231/0 | Transport for Wales Rail | 11 | 2021–2022 | 4 | 231001–231011[2] |
Illustration
Named units
- Unit 231001 is named Sultan.[14] It was suggested by a local school as part of a competition run by TfW, and is named after a statue at Ystrad Mynach of the pit ponies used in the local coal mines.[12]
- Unit 231005 is named Gavin & Stacey. It was suggested by a local primary school that participated in the Christmas Event at Barry Island which is part of the final episode of Gavin and Stacey.[15]
See also
- British Rail Class 745 - An electric multiple unit variant of the Stadler FLIRT UK platform built for Greater Anglia.
- British Rail Class 755 - A bi-mode multiple unit variant of the Stadler FLIRT UK platform built for Greater Anglia.
- British Rail Class 756 - A tri-mode multiple unit variant of the Stadler FLIRT UK platform also built for Transport for Wales Rail.
Notes
- ^ The Power Pack is technically a fifth vehicle, but as it contains no passenger accommodation it is excluded from the count of passenger cars.
References
- ^ a b Lee Waters MS [@Amanwy] (18 January 2023). "All aboard!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ a b Fletcher, Steve (27 June 2022). "The Railways (Interoperability) Regulations 2011, as amended – Stadler Bussnang AG, Class 231/0" (PDF). Letter to Anandarajah Mariadas (Stadler Bussnang AG). London: Office of Rail and Road. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 October 2022. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
- ^ "Time to take stock as the 'bubble' bursts…". Rail Magazine. No. 989. 9 August 2023. pp. 42–47.
- ^ Bi-Mode Multiple Unit - FLIRT - Greater Anglia, UK (PDF). Bussnang: Stadler Rail Group. 1 August 2019. FEABMU0819e. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 October 2023. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
- ^ "Class 231" (PDF). Transport for Wales. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
- ^ a b FLIRT Diesel-Electric Multiple Unit - Transport for Wales (PDF). Bussnang: Stadler Rail Group. 1 April 2023. FWBDMU0423e. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 October 2023. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
- ^ Transport for Wales Rail [@tfwrail] (2 December 2019). "The diesel-electric Metro trains that will run on the Maesteg, Ebbw Vale and Cardiff-Cheltenham lines from 2022 will be Class 231" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "KeolisAmey reveal new-look Wales trains and services". BBC News. British Broadcasting Corporation. 4 June 2018. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
- ^ Barry, Sion (4 June 2018). "How Wales' railways will be transformed with new stations, trains and jobs through investment worth billions". WalesOnline. Cardiff: Reach plc. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
- ^ Holden, Michael (28 July 2021). "New FLIRT trains for Transport for Wales begin testing in Switzerland". RailAdvent. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
- ^ "Trains and stations | TfW". tfw.wales. Retrieved 30 December 2024.
- ^ a b "Transport for Wales launches Class 231 Flirt DMUs". Railway Gazette. 29 March 2023. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
- ^ "TfW Rail Ltd Board Minutes, 11 October 2024, Page 4" (PDF). Transport for Wales. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
- ^ "TfW 231s officially launched into trafic". Today's Railways UK. No. 255. May 2023. p. 58.
- ^ "New train named 'Gavin and Stacey' for Barry Island". Transport For Wales News. Retrieved 30 December 2024.
