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Class 197 Civity

CAF's Civity diesel train, assembled at Llanwern near Newport, and the largest of Transport for Wales's new fleets: 77 units for its regional and longer-distance routes, from the North Wales coast and Conwy Valley to Manchester, Birmingham, Cheltenham and west Wales. 21 two-car units carry ETCS signalling for the Cambrian lines; these (TfW's 197e) entered passenger service on the Cambrian Coast, Machynlleth to Pwllheli, in October 2026. Unlike Northern's Class 195, its cab front has a gangway, so coupled units can be walked through.

Class 197 Civity, indicative only

Class 197 Civity · indicative drawing GB Trains · gbtrains.uk/stock/197/ · CC BY 4.0

indicative drawing: some dimensions are estimated, from photographs and published figures. No drawing of the Class 197 has been published. It is drawn on the Class 195's body, measured from Arriva Rail North's dimensioned layout, which has the 197's printed car lengths and the same doors and windows; the 197's gangwayed cab and the windows ahead of the first door are laid out from photographs, to about 100 mm. Branding left out: the bilingual name with its small roundel, web addresses and the numbers. Drawn at 10 px per metre. Download SVG · Use this drawing

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Liveries 1

Transport for WalesTransport for WalesLight grey with red doors and a red top; colours from photographsShown above

Special liveries 1

Compare with other trains →

Type
Diesel multiple unit
Builder
CAF: bodyshells at Beasain, Spain; final assembly at Llanwern, Newport
Family
Civity, with Class 195 Civity, Class 196 Civity, Class 331 Civity, Class 397 Civity (Nova 2)
In service
since 2022
Operators
Transport for Wales
Formation
2 or 3 cars: 51 two-car (DMSL-DMS) and 26 three-car (DMSL-MSL-DMS); 158 ft (48.05 m) or 234 ft (71.40 m)
Trains in fleet
77
Fleets
Transport for Wales: 77
Top speed
99 mph (160 km/h)
Power
Diesel: one MTU 6H 1800 R85L engine of 390 kW under each car, with a ZF EcoLife hydromechanical transmission · how it works
Bogies
CAF ARIN bogies (Civity UK) · drawn with the same bogie component as Class 195 Civity, Class 196 Civity, Class 331 Civity, Class 397 Civity (Nova 2)
Profile
main-line
Air-conditioned
Yes
Seats per train
116
Total capacity
Two-car: 116 seats and 6 tip-up. Three-car: 190 seats and 9 tip-up (TfW, 2026; Railway Gazette gave 188 in 2022). The 14 three-car units built with a first-class end: 158 standard-width and 16 wider seats, and 9 tip-up (TfW, 2026).
Status
In service: 77 units, 51 two-car and 26 three-car; the ETCS-fitted units began on the Cambrian Coast in October 2026. Owned by SMBC Leasing and Equitix; maintained by CAF, mainly at Chester.

Car types

CodeCarLengthDoors per side
DMSLDriving motor standard with lavatory (DMSL)78 ft 10 in24.026 m
MSLMotor standard with lavatory (MSL), in three-car units76 ft 7 in23.35 m
DMSDriving motor standard (DMS)78 ft 10 in24.026 m

Sources

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