Transport for Wales Class 231 / 756 FLIRTs

[Bob Price]

Yes 11 231's, 17 in total 756's with 7 3 cars according to the latest copy of Rail magazine

 

[Buzz68]

Yes 11 231's, 17 in total 756's with 7 3 cars according to the latest copy of Rail magazine

Thanks Bob and is there a way to tell the 756 and 231's apart from the 231's having 4 diesel engines and the 756's having 1 diesel engine and 3 battery rafts, albeit wired as four battery sets connected to each traction motor.

 

[Anonymous10]

Thanks Bob and is there a way to tell the 756 and 231's apart from the 231's having 4 diesel engines and the 756's having 1 diesel engine and 3 battery rafts, albeit wired as four battery sets connected to each traction motor.

the 756s have 2 carriages with 2 doors and 2 with 1 whereas the 231 has 1 set of doors per carriage

 

[Halish Railway]

the 756s have 2 carriages with 2 doors and 2 with 1 whereas the 231 has 1 set of doors per carriage

The 231s that have been delivered have two sets of doors per side on the driving carriages, with one on the intermediate carriages.

Concept art shows that the 756s have a additional set of doors on one of the intermediate carriages - The space for these doors is occupied by the toilet(s) on the other intermediate carriage.

 

[43096]

Thanks Bob and is there a way to tell the 756 and 231's apart from the 231's having 4 diesel engines and the 756's having 1 diesel engine and 3 battery rafts, albeit wired as four battery sets connected to each traction motor.

There’s a pantograph on the 756s.

 

[Rhydgaled]

the 756s have 2 carriages with 2 doors and 2 with 1 whereas the 231 has 1 set of doors per carriage

Err, no. Both types have "doors at thirds" on the driving vehicles. The 231s have one set of doors per carriage on the intermediate carriages (like the Anglia FLIRTs) and at least one intermediate carriage on the 756s will also be that way. What I'm not sure about is the other intermediate carriage on the 4-car 756s, it seems most likely that this will have two sets of doors like the driving vehicles (this will allow the 756s to be visually distinguished from the 231s as there are no 3-car 231s planned) however some of the renders I've seen seem to be based on the GA FLIRTs and have one door per vehicle.

 

[Anonymous10]

just seen one of the new class 231 as i department cardiff on the 1905 to carmarthen looks very smart and spotless great trains for wales

 

[Jacob Didcote]

Very possible. There is a need to get the 769's sorted, seen some video of them struggling to get up the hill out if Penarth

The 1 in 40 out of Dingle Road is a killer for the 769s especially in the wet!

 

[FGWHST43009]

Ah so it has. I remember seeing HSTs through Barry some years ago.

There's been an odd working going through Barry for some time, an IET doing a round trip from Swansea Maliphant Depot. Maybe a crew run? I do remember the HSTs at Barry. Also there used to be a service from Manchester Piccadilly to Barry Island. Don't know any details though

 

[Devonman2014]

A brand new and very shiny 231 went through Newport today at 11:30 with Gloucester as its destination- anyone got an ID please ?

 

[StripeyNick]

A brand new and very shiny 231 went through Newport today at 11:30 with Gloucester as its destination- anyone got an ID please ?

Both 231005 & 006 were out yesterday judging by pics elsewhere. 231004 was on the Valleys runs

 

[3973EXL]

STP 31/05 0256 Ripple Lane - Canton Caped
https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:R48722/2022-05-31/detailed

 

[Bob Price]

STP 31/05 0256 Ripple Lane - Canton
https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:R48722/2022-05-31/detailed

Wonder if there are another two of them? That would make 8 of the 12

 

[6Gtraincrew]

Only going to be eleven 231's.

 

[StripeyNick]

Wonder if there are another two of them? That would make 8 of the 12

007 & 008 were spotted at Basel en-route to us just over a week ago

 

[3973EXL]

VSTP 07/06 5Q99 0256 Ripple Lane - Canton
https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:45616/2022-06-07/detailed

06/06 6L22 92041 66002 231007/008

 

[AlexNL]

Last Saturday, 231009 was basking in the sunlight at the Stadler factory in St. Margrethen (Switzerland) during their doors open day.



The unit was partially accessible on the inside:



Such a gorgeous train.

 

[anthony263]

They are and will be well received by the public

 

[AdamWW]

They are and will be well received by the public

I've certainly been very impressed with the Greater Anglia FLIRTS.

 

[Bletchleyite]

It's ironic that local stopping services will be getting a much higher standard of train than 4 hour long distance regional services.

 

[Envoy]

It's ironic that local stopping services will be getting a much higher standard of train than 4 hour long distance regional services.

I guess that they wanted the FLIRTS because they have the ability to use overhead wires/trimode with the 231’s being able to be converted for this later if need be. On the long distance routes such as The Marches, it would appear that there is little chance of electrification.

 

[Rhydgaled]

I guess that they wanted the FLIRTS because they have the ability to use overhead wires/trimode with the 231’s being able to be converted for this later if need be. On the long distance routes such as The Marches, it would appear that there is little chance of electrification.

Well yes if you introduce a new fleet that cannot take advantage of the wires. As you say, the 231s appear to be far more flexible in terms of future adaptation to electric traction - in fact Network Rail's TDNS recommends the marches route to be electrified as 'core electrification' while batteries are suggested for the Ebbw Vale route (presumably the latter is based on 1 or 2 trains per hour without the proposed Abertillery branch potentially bringing another 2tph).

 

[Rick1984]

Very similar seat pattern to the Anglia Flirts

 

[dm1]

Not sure where to post this, but since the event has been mentioned already I'll post it here. I think that event in St. Margrethen was probably the
only opportunity to see a almost every train made by Stadler for the UK in one place. All of them were available to see apart from the GA units and the 756s.

The TfW 231 and a Glasgow Subway train were outside and open to the public. A 777 was inside the factory and also accessible. The Tyne & Wear units could be seen in production, but weren't accessible inside (I'm not sure there is a finished train yet).

I have to say, the 777s have very hard seats, but that's probably fine for a metro service. The TfW unit seats were much better, but even they were much less comfortable than the seats in the new SBB long-distance FLIRT next to it.

Picture captions:
1. Retractable step of a TfW 231
2. TfW 231 from outside
3. Glasgow subway train with open front cab door
4. 777 with evacuation ladder extended
5. 777 interior with open evacuation door in the background (the PIS was turned on - hearing announcements about stations in Birmingham while standing in a factory in Switzerland was slightly bizzare)
6. Tyne & Wear units in production

 

[XCTurbostar]

I've noticed that there are 3Gxx paths in for this weekend (2nd) between Cardiff and Gloucester. Do these typically run as pairs of 231s?

 

[StripeyNick]

I've noticed that there are 3Gxx paths in for this weekend (2nd) between Cardiff and Gloucester. Do these typically run as pairs of 231s?

I don't think there's any typical pattern. From the majority of photos I've seen on a local Facebook page, it tends to be a single set. They seem to pair them up when a new set is out for the first time though

 

[XCTurbostar]

I don't think there's any typical pattern. From the majority of photos I've seen on a local Facebook page, it tends to be a single set. They seem to pair them up when a new set is out for the first time though

Do weekend paths typically run? seems like most photos are on weekdays.

 

[CapitalStar378]

When are the 231's likely to enter service on the Rhymney line? Seems to be been an age since the first units arrived. TfW must be dying to bin the 769s.

 

[penguin8967]

Do these typically run as pairs of 231s?

It's usually single sets I think - anything that ends up in platform 3 at Gloucester will be a single unit as it can't hold 8 coaches. Not sure about the others though.


On Monday last week (20th) I did manage to see 001 and 006 at Gloucester (on 3G66/3G68) - anyone know if this was 006's first time out?



Weirdly 001 still had all the seats wrapped in plastic whilst 006 had them all removed - you would expect it to be the other way round.

 

[XCTurbostar]

..anyone know if this was 006's first time out?

From what I can tell, its first time out was on May 11th