TRANSPENNINE Express has confirmed that, from December, Class 802 ‘Nova 1’ bi-mode units will operate four services a day on the West Coast Main Line (two in both directions) between Manchester and Edinburgh.
The company says the deployments from its fleet of Class 802s, which will work alongside the currentlydiagrammed Class 397 ‘Nova 2’ electric multiple units, will give “more resilience” on the route as it moves back to a full service from the start of the December timetable.
Explaining that they would be used until further notice, a TPE spokesman added that without the additional trains, there would be no fallback if there was an issue with the Class 397s.
TPE has a fleet of 19 Hitachibuilt Class 802s owned by Angel Trains and 12 Class 397s, constructed by CAF and leased from Eversholt Rail. Both classes are five-car trains and first entered service in late 2019.