Description
In September 1997, North West Trains placed an order for seventy carriages with Alstom. The original order was for eleven two-carriage units with a top speed of 100mph, seven three-carriage units with a top speed of 100mph and nine three-carriage units with a top speed of 125mph. This was reconfigured to eleven two-carriage and sixteen three-carriage units all with a top speed of 100mph, worth £78 million, built to allow for the replacement of elderly Class 101 'heritage' DMUs and locomotive-hauled trains to Bangor and Holyhead. As they were constructed, the old locomotive sheds at Chester were replaced with a purpose-built facility in order to service the Class 175 units. Units were tested at low speed at the Severn Valley Railway before further testing and driver training at the Old Dalby Test Track from November 1999. The first unit entered service on 20 June 2000.
The two-carriage units are numbered 175001–011, and the three-carriage units 175101–116. Carriages are labelled as coaches A–C, with two-car units having no coach B. Each train has provision for two disabled passengers in coach A, and storage for two bicycles in coach C.
Early reliability problems meant that some services were operated by old rolling stock at short notice. Remedial work included improving brakes and bogies, and the reliability of the units is now greatly improved.
Read more about this topic: British Rail Class 175
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