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| Over Christmas 2019 I inadvertently found myself sampling the newest diesel multiple units in the UK, the class 195 with Northern. |
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| Since rail privatisation, and save for a few Siemens (CAF) Class 333s that are now two decades old, Northern and its predecessors (e.g. First North Western, Northern Spirit) have relied on British Rail era trains, either inherited at privatisation or handed down from other operators as they reequipped. Successive franchises have been let on the basis of no growth and minimal cost. The most notable trains, and apparently hated by customers and very much picked on by politicians were the 'Pacer' units, Class 142 (above) and Class 144, which by 2019 totalled nearly one hundred two- and three-car trains in the fleet. |
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The current Northern franchise, operated by Arriva since April 2016, promised the replacement of the Pacers as well as increased service levels across the north. This meant many more trains would be required, so whilst Northern has continued to collect assorted second trains (both electric and diesel, which accounts for the variety of colour seen on trains across the north) it also ordered 101 new trains from CAF. This order is generally regarded as the 'Pacer replacement' although in reality there is a cascade of stock across the franchise, and former Pacer routes are more likely to be served by Class 150/152/155/156 Sprinters, whilst the new trains serve the Northern Connect network.
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| There are both electric and diesel trains coming from CAF: about two thirds are diesel. The interior of the diesel version, the Class 195 is illustrated above. It is an attractive and welcoming interior with a lot of the more popular table seating. Alas Northern have acquired a lot as two-car trains, which is the last thing it needs when demand is growing. The UK has enough two-car DMUs before Northern and Abellio acquire any more. Happy days if you're a CAF share holder! |
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| The seats appear to be the same type of 'ironing board' seats fitted to other recent train deliveries, but come with a bit more padding and arm rests, which makes them reasonably comfortable. |
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| As with many new trains there is the facility to charge your phone on board, however it is plug only (no USB) and is between the seat bases, so you need to be contortionist to actually use it. There is also Wifi on board. |
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| The Class 195 also has the facility for seat reservations. I'm not sure if Northern or its predecessors have used seat reservations since the pre-privatisation days of Regional Railways running the Transpennine Express. |
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| Whilst the proliferation of table seats is a good thing (maybe except for capacity) as usual these days the train designers have not thought people might actually want to look out of windows. Alas on the scenic routes across the north these trains will operate on, they probably do. I recall that part if the current Scotrail franchise is to specifically provide facilities for sight seeing, starting with enhanced window cleaning on trains serving the particularly scenic routes in the highlands. |
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| The 195s also come with automated customer information screens. There is quite a lot of information on here which takes a moment to calibrate, especially the 'D' in the top right, which is the carriage letter. On a three car train! Again this points to Northern introducing seat reservations at some point. |
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| Grab rails on trains and buses need to contrast to the back ground colour (hence bright yellow or green is popular generally contrasting to darker clothing, seats etc). Not sure about the colour contrast of that grab rail by the door of this Class 195. |
Conclusion.....not a bad little train. Comfortable, quiet. Few quirks which show the interior was specified/designed by someone who doesn't use trains. Coming from CAF I'm sure they were cheap, and I hope they give 30+ years service!
