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Class 331 Civity
The electric twin of the Class 195: CAF's Civity for Northern's electrified routes, in three- and four-car units, brought in from July 2019 on electrified routes around Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool and Blackpool.
Drawing to come
- Type
- Electric multiple unit
- Builder
- CAF (Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles), Zaragoza, Spain
- Built
- 2017–2020
- In service
- since 2019
- Operators
- Northern
- Formation
- 3 or 4 cars: 31 three-car units (DMSL-PTS-DMS) and 12 four-car (DMSL-PTS-TS-DMS)
- Trains in fleet
- 43
- Fleets
- Northern: 43
- Top speed
- 100 mph
- Power
- 25 kV AC overhead: a 2,570 kVA transformer on the PTS feeding four 220 kW motors on each driving car (1,760 kW), with regenerative braking
- Car height
- 3.87 m
- Car width
- 2.712 m
- Profile
- main-line
- Air-conditioned
- Yes
- Total capacity
- 3-car: 184 seats and 19 tip-up; 4-car: 260 seats and 23 tip-up (Eversholt Rail). Northern's 2022 contract gives 204 and 284 seats, with 141 and 185 standing
- Status
- In service with Northern: 43 units (31 three-car and 12 four-car), maintained at Allerton and Neville Hill with support from CAF.
Car types
| Code | Car | Length | Doors per side |
|---|---|---|---|
| DMSL | Driving motor standard with lavatory (DMSL) | 24.026 m | 2 double |
| PTS | Pantograph trailer standard, with the transformer (PTS) | 23.35 m | 2 double |
| TS | Trailer standard (TS) | 23.35 m | 2 double |
| DMS | Driving motor standard (DMS) | 24.026 m | 2 double |
Sources
- The Class 331 Electric Multiple Unit (specification sheet), Arriva Rail North, 24 January 2018 (formations (DMSL-PTS-DMS, DMSL-PTS-TS-DMS), car lengths 24.026 m and 23.350 m, width 2.712 m, height 3.870 m, 100 mph, 2,570 kVA transformer on the PTS, motors on the driving cars, double-leaf sliding plug doors, regenerative braking)
- Class 331, Eversholt Rail, accessed 7 October 2026 (31 three-car and 12 four-car units, 141 vehicles; built at Zaragoza; seats; 24.03 m and 23.35 m; 100 mph; air conditioning; entry into service 2019-2020; maintained at Allerton and Neville Hill)
- Northern's trains from Spain (David Shirres), Rail Engineer, 3 April 2018 (220 kW motors on each axle of the driving cars' two motor bogies; doors at the thirds; 24 m cars; built with the 195s)
- Northern unveils new £500 million diesel and electric trains, RAIL (Richard Clinnick), 26 June 2019 (republished 9 September 2019) (four-car 331 launched at Doncaster, June 2019; two in passenger service from 1 July 2019, on Doncaster to Leeds)
- Transformation of Northern continues with the introduction of its 100th brand new train, Northern (press release), 10 December 2020 (the first 195s and 331s introduced in July 2019)
- DfT OLR Holdings Limited and Northern Trains Limited 2022: services contract (public register copy, version 1.1x), Department for Transport, 24 February 2022, pp. 145-146 (Appendix 1 to Schedule 1.6, Table 1) (31 three-car (204 seats, 141 standing) and 12 four-car (284 seats, 185 standing))
- British Rail Class 331, Wikipedia, accessed 7 October 2026 (built 2017-2020 (cross-check))
unverified built 2017–2020: Wikipedia; Rail Engineer found one three-car and four four-car units complete at Zaragoza in January 2018, seats: Eversholt's 184 + 19 and 260 + 23 tip-up against Rail Engineer's 203 and 284 (2018) and the 2022 contract's 204 and 284, power: Rail Engineer gives two motor bogies on each driving car, with a 220 kW motor on each axle; the total of 1,760 kW is worked out from that, the sub-class names 331/0 (three-car) and 331/1 (four-car) are RAIL's and Wikipedia's, not the lessor's, so they are left out of the formation