TransPennine Express (TPE) has received the first of its new bullet-style Nova 1 trains after formal acceptance from the Office of Rail and Road.

Developed by Hitachi Rail and financed by Angel Trains, the Nova 1 trains have more carriages and extra seats for customers. These trains are expected to transform the on-board experience of travelers on the TransPennine Express.

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TPE will receive 19 five-carriage Nova 1 trains, with each carriage containing 342 seats, which is 161 more than the current trains.

The fleet will travel on the route between Manchester, Leeds, York, Newcastle, Morpeth and Edinburgh. The fleet will be brought into service in phases before the end of this year.

Testing of both the Nova 3 and Nova 2 fleets is ongoing and three of the Nova 3 trains have been accepted. However, due to the emergence of some faults, the first of the Nova 3 trains will not enter service until the end of summer.

TPE stated that it is working with manufacturer Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF) to resolve the problems.

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TransPennine Express major projects director Chris Nutton said: “The acceptance of the first Nova 1 train is a key step towards the introduction of more trains and more carriages for customers.

“Together with our partners, we are working hard to get each of our Nova fleets into service as soon as possible. By the end of this year, trains from all three fleets will be operating across the North and into Scotland providing 13 million extra seats.”

Hitachi Rail managing director Karen Boswell said: “This is another fantastic milestone, which will soon see the Northern Powerhouse connected with modern reliable trains. They will double the number of seats for TransPennine passengers on intercity services between major cities across the North.”

Every Nova train offers comfortable and spacious seating facility, free Wi-Fi in both first and standard class, plug sockets and USB charging points.

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