British Rail Class 730
The British Rail Class 730 Aventra is a type of electric multiple-unit passenger train built by Alstom for West Midlands Trains. Two separate batches of the fleet are being built; 48 three-car units and 36 five-car units.

History

In October 2017, West Midlands Trains were awarded the franchise to operate both local rail services around Birmingham and the West Midlands, suburban services to London Euston, and long-distance inter-urban services operating from both Euston and . At the time the franchise was awarded, the company announced that it would procure more than 100 new trains at a cost of £680m to replace older rolling stock and enhance its fleet. Of these, a total of 81 EMUs were ordered from Bombardier Transportation from its Aventra product range. They are being built at Derby Litchurch Lane Works. The first completed train was unveiled in September 2020.

In 2022 the order was amended to increase the proportion of three-car units in the fleet, which will result in the delivery of 48 three-car units and 36 five-car units instead of the original plan for 36 three-car units, Class 730/0, and 45 five-car units, Class 730/1 and Class 730/2a total of 324 vehicles in 84 units.

Testing and introduction into service 

The 730s will enter service in 2023 and will be the second new West Midlands Railway fleet to be introduced, with first being the Class 196 which entered service on 17 October 2022.

The introduction of the 730s will allow the Class 323s to be withdrawn, 17 of which will be cascaded to Northern Trains. It will also ensure the withdrawal of the Class 350/2 units on the West Midlands Trains network.

The Class 730 was tested in Velim in the Czech Republic, as well as in the UK. Testing of Class 730 units on the West Midlands Trains network began in March 2021, and in February 2022 the then full order of 36 Class 730/0 units received authorisation for service from the Office of Rail and Road.

The Class 730/0 units will enter service on West Coast Main Line services out of London allowing for the withdrawal of Class 319s, before entering service on the Cross City line in the first half of 2024.

Fleet
The two separate batches will be constructed to operate at different maximum speeds to suit different uses. The three-car Class 730/0 trains—designed for Cross-City Line and inner suburban services—will operate at up to  and will double capacity on the Cross City Line. The five-car Class 730/2 trains will operate on outer suburban and long-distance services and will operate at up to .

Vehicle numbering
Individual vehicles are numbered in the ranges as follows, with the last three digits of each vehicle number matching those of the unit to which the vehicle belongs:

 Ranges for Class 730/2 vehicles (to be confirmed)

European Vehicle Numbers for the fleet are devised by prefixing the domestic vehicle number with type code 94, country code 70, and a leading zero; "94700...".

Illustration

References

Bombardier Transportation multiple units
730
Train-related introductions in 2023
25 kV AC multiple units