Rolling stock › In serviceData updated
Class 756 FLIRT
Stadler FLIRTs that can run from overhead wires, batteries or diesel: the first tri-mode trains in passenger service in Britain, from November 2024. They brought electric trains to the Valley Lines north of Cardiff; as the Class 398 tram-trains take over there, they are to move to the Rhymney and Vale of Glamorgan lines.
Drawing to come
- Type
- Tri-mode multiple unit (electric, battery and diesel)
- Builder
- Stadler, Bussnang (Switzerland)
- In service
- since 2024
- Operators
- Transport for Wales
- Formation
- 3 or 4 passenger cars with a short power pack car: 65.0 m (756/0) or 80.7 m (756/1)
- Trains in fleet
- 24
- Fleets
- Transport for Wales: 24
- Top speed
- 75 mph
- Power
- 25 kV AC overhead, traction batteries, or a 480 kW diesel generator in the power pack car; 2,600 kW at the wheel on 25 kV, 1,300 kW on batteries
- Train length
- 80.70 m
- Car height
- 3.915 m
- Car width
- 2.72 m
- Profile
- main-line
- Air-conditioned
- Yes
- Seats per train
- 158
- Total capacity
- Four-car: 158 seats, 32 tip-up and 204 standing. Three-car: 118 seats, 24 tip-up and 148 standing (Stadler; TfW's seat counts agree)
- Status
- In service: 24 units, 7 three-car (756/0) and 17 four-car (756/1), on the Merthyr, Aberdare and Treherbert lines in September 2026. Owned by SMBC Leasing and Equitix.
Car types
| Code | Car | Length | Doors per side |
|---|---|---|---|
| DMS | Driving motor standard (DMS), over the motor bogie | ||
| PTS | Pantograph trailer standard (PTS), in four-car units | ||
| PP | Power pack car (PP): a diesel generator set and traction batteries, with no doors or seats | ||
| PTSW | Pantograph trailer standard with wheelchair spaces and toilet (PTSW) |
Sources
- FLIRT tri-mode multiple unit, Transport for Wales (data sheet FWBTRI0922e), Stadler, September 2022 (24 units, 7 three-car and 17 four-car; 65,000 and 80,700 mm; width 2,720 mm; height 3,915 mm; floor 960 mm; seats and standing; 25 kV, battery and 480 kW diesel; 2,600 kW (1,300 kW on battery); 75 mph)
- First electric trains to be introduced to South Wales Metro, Transport for Wales, 17 November 2024 (into passenger service 18 November 2024, Merthyr and Aberdare lines first, then Treherbert; first tri-mode trains in UK service)
- A guide to our fleet of trains: fleet accessibility specifications (V3, updated June 2026), Transport for Wales, June 2026 (24 units, seven three-car and 17 four-car; seats; routes (June 2026))
- Concern as further delays hit roll-out of tram-trains, Nation.Cymru, 26 September 2026 (756s on the Merthyr, Aberdare and Treherbert lines, moving to the Rhymney and Vale of Glamorgan lines as the 398s arrive)
- Case study: Wales & Borders, commercial and contract management, Apex Rail, accessed 7 October 2026 (owned by SMBC Leasing and Equitix)
- British Rail Class 756, Wikipedia, accessed 7 October 2026 (formation, car names and subclass numbers (last resort))
unverified formation and the car names (DMS-PTS-PP-PTSW-DMS; the 756/0s without the PTS) and the subclass numbers: Wikipedia, citing Platform 5's pocket book; Stadler gives only the axle arrangements (Bo'2'2'2'Bo' and Bo'2'2'2'2'Bo'), car lengths: not found; Stadler gives only 65.0 m and 80.7 m units, the same as Greater Anglia's Class 755s (the site's 755 record has 21.05 m driving cars, 15.70 m trailers and a 7.2 m power pack car), doors: not stated in a source read; the related Class 231 has two pairs a side on each driving car and one on each trailer, build years: not confirmed (Wikipedia gives 2021 to 2023); the last unit entered traffic in 2025 according to RAIL as cited by Wikipedia (not read), first passengers: TfW's launch was 18 November 2024; Wikipedia, citing Today's Railways, says two units carried passengers on 15 November, owners: SMBC Leasing and Equitix, from a consultant's case study (Apex Rail)