British Rail Class 175
The British Rail Class 175 Coradia 1000 is a type of diesel multiple unit (DMU) passenger train from the Alstom Coradia 1000 family.
| British Rail Class 175 Coradia 1000 | |
|---|---|
Transport for Wales Rail Class 175 at Cardiff Central in 2023 | |
Refurbished Transport for Wales Rail interior | |
| In service | 20 June 2000 – 17 October 2023 |
| Manufacturer | Alstom |
| Built at | Washwood Heath, Birmingham |
| Family name | Coradia 1000 |
| Replaced | |
| Constructed | 1999–2001 |
| Refurbished | 2019–2022 |
| Number built | 27 |
| Successor | |
| Formation |
|
| Fleet numbers |
|
| Capacity | 136 seats per 2-car unit |
| Owners | Angel Trains |
| Operators |
|
| Depots | |
| Specifications | |
| Car body construction | Steel |
| Car length |
|
| Width | 2.73 m (8 ft 11 in) |
| Doors | Single-leaf sliding plug (2 per side per car) |
| Maximum speed | 100 mph (160 km/h) |
| Weight |
|
| Axle load | Route Availability 1 |
| Prime mover(s) | 2 or 3 × Cummins N14E-R (one per vehicle) |
| Engine type | Inline-6 4-stroke turbo-diesel |
| Displacement | 14 L (855 cu in) per engine |
| Power output | 340 kW (450 hp) per engine |
| Transmission | Voith T 211 re.3 (hydrokinetic, one per vehicle) |
| Braking system(s) | Electro-pneumatic |
| Safety system(s) |
|
| Coupling system | Scharfenberg Type 330 |
| Multiple working | Within class, and with Class 180 |
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge |
| Notes/references | |
| Sourced from except where otherwise noted. | |
The fleet of 27 sets was ordered from the French train manufacturer Alstom during July 1997 and were constructed between 1999 and 2001 at Washwood Heath, Birmingham. Early plans for some of the fleet to be capable of 125 mph (200 km/h) were in place but subsequently abandoned. Driver training and extensive testing of the new fleet was performed at the Old Dalby Test Track from November 1999. The first Class 175 entered revenue service with the train operating company First North Western on 20 June 2000. Ownership of the fleet is held by Angel Trains, who has leased the fleet to various train operators.
The first operator of the Class 175, North Western Trains (later known as First North Western), did not operate the fleet for long before Wales & Borders was created and inherited it. During December 2003, the new franchisee Arriva Trains Wales took over the Class 175s, by which point early reliability problems had been mostly resolved. First TransPennine Express also briefly operated several. In February 2018, the entire Class 175 fleet was temporarily withdrawn from service for safety checks. During October 2018, the fleet was transferred to the Transport for Wales Rail Services (KeolisAmey Wales) and then to the government-owned Transport for Wales Rail during 2021.