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Chiltern Explorer (Class 68 and Mark 5A)
Chiltern's newest trains, branded Chiltern Explorer: a Class 68 diesel locomotive and five CAF-built Mark 5A coaches, driven from a cab in the end coach when the locomotive is pushing. The coaches were built for TransPennine Express, which hired Class 68s (built for Direct Rail Services and owned by Beacon Rail) to haul them as Nova 3 from August 2019 to December 2023. They replaced Chiltern's Mark 3 sets between London and Birmingham in 2026.
Scale
Chiltern Explorer (Class 68 and Mark 5A) · indicative drawing GB Trains · gbtrains.uk/stock/68/ · CC BY 4.0
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Liveries 2
Chiltern RailwaysChiltern Explorer two-tone blueShown aboveGreat British Railways68021 (Chiltern), from September 2026The national livery. One entry for every operator that wears it: the region's name is lettering, and the double arrow and lettering stay off the site's drawings.Not drawn yet
Former liveries 1
TransPennine ExpressTransPennine ExpressIn service with TransPennine Express from 24 August 2019 to December 2023, and carried until the sets were repainted for Chiltern from September 2025.Former2019 to 2025Not drawn yet
- Type
- Diesel-electric locomotive and coaches
- Builder
- Stadler Rail Valencia, formerly Vossloh España (Class 68); CAF (Mark 5A coaches)
- In service
- since 2019
- Operators
- Chiltern Railways
- Formation
- A Class 68 locomotive and five Mark 5A coaches, with a driving trailer at the other end
- Trains in fleet
- 13
- Fleets
- Chiltern Railways: 13
- Top speed
- 100 mph (161 km/h); the coaches are designed for 125 mph (201 km/h)
- Power
- Diesel-electric locomotive (Caterpillar C175-16 engine, 2,800 kW) at one end and a driving trailer at the other; Chiltern is bringing in hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) as fuel: about 7% of its fuel now, about 20% expected by December 2026 · how it works
- Bogies
- CAF inside-framed bogies under the Mark 5 and Mark 5A coaches; Stadler UKLight bogies (Class 68) · drawn with the same bogie component as Caledonian Sleeper (Mark 5 coaches, Class 92 and 73/9)
- Car width
- 8 ft 10 in (2.70 m)
- Profile
- main-line
- Air-conditioned
- Yes
- Seats per train
- 291
- Total capacity
- 30 first class and 261 standard (64 + 59 + 69 + 69), counted from Chiltern's seat plans. RAIL (2018) gives the same per coach, not counting 6 tip-up seats in coach B. Chiltern's fact sheet says 68 seats a carriage, which doesn't fit its own plans, and Beacon Rail's 286 isn't the figure for these sets
- Status
- With Chiltern since 26 January 2026: seven of the 13 sets were running by mid-September 2026, and the other six join with the December 2026 timetable. Chiltern leases 68019-032 from Beacon Rail (13 for service and one spare) and 68018 for rescues. The last Mark 3 set ran on 18 March 2026, and Chiltern passed into public ownership on 20 September 2026.
unverified Some of these figures haven’t yet been checked against an official source or a published history. What’s in doubt ↓
Car types
| Code | Car | Length | Doors per side |
|---|---|---|---|
| 68 | Class 68 locomotive | 67 ft 3 in20.50 m | |
| TF | Mark 5A trailer first (TF, coach E) | 73 ft 5 in22.37 m | 2 single |
| TS3 | Mark 5A trailer standard, T3 (coaches C and D) | 72 ft 10 in22.20 m | 2 single |
| TS2 | Mark 5A trailer standard, T2 (coach B) | 72 ft 10 in22.20 m | 2 single |
| DTS | Mark 5A driving trailer standard (DTS, coach A) | 73 ft 5 in22.37 m | 2 single |
Sources
How we source figures → · Spotted a mistake? Tell us → (opens in a new tab)
Show the 40 sources from Wikimedia Commons, RAIL, Chiltern Railways and 16 more
- CR 68 023 + Mk5a (photograph, MissCatTrap, CC BY-SA 4.0) Wikimedia Commons, 17 May 2026the drawing: the Class 68's secondary vertical damper over the frame's dip and its bogie layout (oblique; layout only)
- Chiltern Railways' newest trains now serving the West Midlands Chiltern Railways, 27 January 2026first Chiltern Explorer in service on Monday 26 January 2026; 13 trains, all available from December 2026; replacing four loco-hauled Mark 3 sets
- Chiltern Railways secures modern trains to transform customer journeys Chiltern Railways, 5 August 202513 Mark 5A trains from Beacon Rail to replace the Mark 3s; HVO fuel; stop-start
- New trains: your new Chiltern Explorer trains have arrived Chiltern Railways, accessed 6 October 2026First Class; four toilets, one accessible; four bikes; two accessible areas, in the First Class coach; Class 68s with stop-start; HVO fuel; the drawing: its video still of 68032 and coach E side-on, for the bands on coach E (measured, not reproduced)
- Chiltern Explorer fact sheet (v1) Chiltern Railways, January 202613 trains of 5 carriages including a First Class carriage; 100 mph (161 km/h)
- Seat diagrams A - E (Chiltern Explorer coach plans) Chiltern Railways, 2026coaches A to E: seats per coach (64, 59, 69, 69 and 30 first), wheelchair spaces, toilets, bike space, vestibules
- First TransPennine Express Mk 5As arrive in UK RAIL, 29 May 2018formation 68+TF+TS+TS+TS+DTS; each coach's length, seats and weight; train 433 ft (131.84 m) with the locomotive; 100 mph (161 km/h); built by CAF in northern Spain, delivered from May 2018
- First of TPE's new Mk 5As enters passenger service RAIL, 3 September 2019first passenger service on 24 August 2019, 68027 with set TP09; FO 115xx, TSO 127xx, DTS 128xx
- CAF's Mark 5 coaches Rail Engineer, 26 August 202113 five-car sets and a spare driving trailer; Mark 5A 72 ft 10 in (22.2 m) long, 8 ft 10 in (2.7 m) wide; designed for 125 mph (201 km/h), run at 100 mph (161 km/h); bar couplers within the set, buffers and buckeyes at its ends; 2,800 kW Class 68s; Beacon Rail the owner; the Mark 5 and Mark 5A share their bogies and braking systems
- Mk5A Beacon RailCAF; 100 mph (161 km/h); bogie wheelbase 7 ft 5 in (2,250 mm), bogie centres 52 ft 6 in (16,000 mm); 286 seats; 170 t
- Cl.68 Beacon RailStadler; 2,800 kW; 317 kN; 160 km/h (99 mph); Bo-Bo; 85.5 t
- UKLIGHT diesel-electric locomotive, BRLL to be used by DRS, UK (data sheet LDEUKLIGHTBRLLDRS0816e) Stadler Rail, 2016 (file dated April 2018), pp. 1-2UKLight (Class 68): Stadler Rail Valencia; Caterpillar C175-16 2,800 kW, ABB electrics, AC/AC; 160 km/h (99 mph); Bo'Bo'; up to 500 kW train supply; the side elevation (undimensioned but to scale), measured for the drawing at 67 ft 3 in (20.50 m) over buffers: outline, cab, cab door and window, bogie centres, buffers, fuel tank; the bogies' layout
- Vossloh España unveils Direct Rail Services Class 68 Railway Gazette International, 16 December 2013Vossloh España, Valencia; about 85 t; C175-16 rated 2,800 kW; 3 ft 7 in (1,100 mm) wheels; 160 km/h (99 mph)
- More leasing and maintenance details for Chiltern Railway's replacement Class 68 fleet RAIL, 8 August 202568019-032 leased from Beacon (13 service, one spare) and 68018 for rescues; push-pull system for the Mark 5As; Chiltern's Mark 3 locomotives 68010-015 hired from DRS until March 2026
- Chiltern steps up work on new Class 68 fleet ready for 2026 entry RAIL, 20 October 2025ten sets a day in use, one spare and two in maintenance; HVO fuel
- Depot & Facilities Requirement for the Long Term Maintenance of Class 68 Locomotives & Mk5A Coaches (preliminary market engagement notice 012495-2026) The Chiltern Railway Company, on Find a Tender (GOV.UK), 11 February 202613 Mk5a sets and 15 Class 68s, all in service by 1 December 2026; leased from Beacon Rail
- Chiltern loco-hauled changeover is complete The Railway Hub (reporting by Pip Dunn), 27 May 2026last Mark 3 service on 18 March 2026 (68011 and AL04); Chiltern set formations, e.g. CH04 of 11504, 12712-714 and 12804
- Class 68 brochure (DRS074 Class68 Brochure v4), with Vossloh España's general arrangement drawing of 21 September 2011 Direct Rail Services, 2013 (archived 2 May 2014), pp. 3-4the bogie wheelbase, 9 ft 2 in (2,800 mm), on Vossloh's general arrangement drawing (its other dimensions are of the pre-production design)
- Class 68 presentation, with a side-on photograph of 68002 Direct Rail Services, 2018 (archived 19 May 2018)the drawing: a side-on photograph of 68002, for the bodyside grilles
- First Class 68 gains new Chiltern Railways livery after maintenance contract agreed RAIL (Pip Dunn), 26 September 2025Chiltern's livery: dark blue, the No. 1 end deep blue and the No. 2 end lighter; no yellow warning panels; the same scheme on the Mark 5As
- Refurbished Chiltern Railways Class 68 at London Marylebone (1) Wikimedia Commons (Fortek67, CC BY-SA 4.0), 2026-01-26the drawing: the locomotive's livery (bright-blue half, light-aqua and mid-blue bands, navy half, orange line) and its grilles; the bogies' grey frame (tone only) and the secondary vertical damper over the frame's dip (layout only)
- Chiltern Railways Mark 5A coach at London Marylebone (1) Wikimedia Commons (Fortek67, CC BY-SA 4.0), 2026-01-26the drawing: coach C's window layout (a check on the TPE measurements) and the bands at its far end
- Chiltern Railways Mark 5A coach at London Marylebone (2) Wikimedia Commons (Fortek67, CC BY-SA 4.0), 2026-01-26the drawing: the Mark 5A's heights, wheels, doors, gangway, bogies and the bands at the coach ends, measured square-on; the CAF bogie's layout (layout only)
- Chiltern Railways Mark 5A DVT at London Marylebone (2026) (1) Wikimedia Commons (Fortek67, CC BY-SA 4.0), 2026-01-26the drawing: the driving trailer's cab, cab door, first door and windows (estimated from a three-quarter view)
- Chiltern Railways Mark 5A DT 12814 at Birmingham Moor Street 5 February 2026 Wikimedia Commons (Anamyd, CC BY-SA 4.0), 2026-02-05the drawing: the driving trailer's cab and livery
- TPE68, (2) Northants Loop, Apr19 Wikimedia Commons (G-13114, CC BY-SA 4.0), 2019-04-11the drawing: door and window positions of the Mark 5A TF and TS, measured on a near-broadside view
- TransPennine Express celebrates five years of the Nova Fleet in "Nova-ember" TransPennine Express, 25 November 2024Nova 3 retired by TPE in December 2023
- Class 68 brochure (DRS074 Class68 Brochure v4), with Vossloh España's general arrangement drawing of 21 September 2011 Direct Rail Services, 2013 (archived 2 May 2014)buffer height 3 ft 4 in (1,020 mm); the buffers' head, plunger, case and mounting block (Vossloh's general arrangement; set BC7 round 2, 21 October 2026). Its 65 ft 3 in (19,895 mm) over buffers is the 2011 pre-production design's, not the built locomotive's
- 68004 Rapid in Torness terminal.jpg (photograph, CC BY 4.0) Wikimedia Commons (kitmasterbloke; CC BY 4.0), 3 June 2026no dropped buckeye: nothing below the buffers side on (set BC7 round 2, 21 October 2026)
- 68006 Pride of the North in Torness terminal.jpg (photograph, CC BY 4.0) Wikimedia Commons (kitmasterbloke; CC BY 4.0), 3 June 2026no dropped buckeye: nothing below the buffers side on (set BC7 round 2, 21 October 2026)
- 68021 at Eastleigh Works 19 11 25 (54934456809).jpg (photograph, CC BY-SA 4.0) Wikimedia Commons (Foulger Rail Photos, Flickr; CC BY-SA 4.0), 19 November 2025the free end: the screw coupling on the hook, no buckeye below (set BC7 round 2, 21 October 2026)
- The Class 68 (launch-day report and technical details) Dawlish Trains, visit 11 March 2014the Class 68's length, 67 ft 3 in (20.50 m), height 12 ft 6 in (3.82 m) and weight 86 t, from the 2014 press day
- Class 68 (technical data) loco-info.comthe Class 68's length as 67 ft 5 in (20.56 m; datum not stated)
- Chiltern Railways brought into public ownership Department for Transport (GOV.UK), 17 September 2026six more Chiltern Explorers with the December 2026 timetable, completing 13; Chiltern into public ownership on 20 September 2026
- TransPennine Express passenger cars (project page and technical data sheet) CAF, archived 2024the coaches' lengths, 72 ft 10 in and 73 ft 5 in (22,200 and 22,370 mm), and their 200 km/h (124 mph) design speed
- First bodyshell completed by CAF for new TPE fleet Rail Technology Magazine, 10 March 2017the first Mark 5A bodyshell, March 2017
- Autumn start for TPE's new locomotive-hauled Mk 5A stock RAIL, 2018where CAF built each coach type (Beasain, Irun)
- First class 68 gains new chiltern railways livery after maintenance contract agreed RAIL magazine, read 13 October 2026the livery's name and who ran it (no colours taken)
- Diesel locomotive 68021 Diesel Almanac, updated October 2026GBR branding applied to 68021 in September 2026
- Chiltern Railways to be nationalised this weekend IanVisits, 17 September 2026the Department for Transport's photographs of a GBR-branded Chiltern train, 17 September 2026
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unverified
- The drawing's bogies (bogie round 2, 9 October 2026): the Class 68's laid out from Stadler's to-scale side elevation; the Mark 5As' CAF bogies, inside-framed with inboard axle bearings (RAIL, 2018), from a photograph of coaches C and D (layout only), their make and type not named by any source read; the Class 68's secondary vertical damper drawn in the middle of the bogie (Kyle), as oblique photographs of 68022 and 68023 show it
- Class 68 length 67 ft 3 in (20.50 m), from Dawlish Trains' report of the 2014 press day; loco-info.com gives 67 ft 5 in (20.56 m). Stadler's data sheet gives no dimensions, but its side elevation scaled at 67 ft 3 in (20.50 m) gives the published 9 ft 2 in (2,800 mm) bogie wheelbase. The 65 ft 3 in (19,895 mm) on Vossloh's 2011 drawing is the pre-production design's
- The number of sets in service after mid-September 2026: seven then, by the Department for Transport's count of six more to come in December 2026
- Doors: automatic sliding plug doors, two per coach and one on the first-class coach (RAIL, 2018); that this is per side, and where they sit, is read from photographs and Chiltern's seat plans (the first-class coach has a door at both ends on the drawn side and one on the other), not from a drawing
- Mark 5A height: not published by CAF, Beacon Rail or Chiltern
- Mark 5A width 8 ft 10 in (2.7 m): Rail Engineer, quoting CAF's UK programme director (CAF doesn't publish it); the 9 ft 0 in (2.75 m) Wikipedia gives is the Caledonian Sleeper's Mark 5
- Build dates: CAF built the Mark 5As from 2017 (the first bodyshell in March 2017, RTM), the first-class and standard coaches at Beasain and the driving trailers at Irun (RAIL), and delivered the first set in May 2018. No source read gives the build years of 68018-032
- The drawing: the Mark 5A's roof height (drawn at about 12 ft 6 in (3.82 m)), wheel size (2 ft 8 in (0.82 m)) and window and door heights are estimated from photographs; no drawing of the coaches has been published
- The drawing: the Mark 5A body is drawn 69 ft 11 in (21.3 m) long (photographs give 69 ft 5 in to 70 ft 6 in (21.15 to 21.5 m)), the rest of each published length being couplers and buffers
- The drawing: the driving trailer's cab profile, cab side and windows are estimated from three-quarter photographs of its other side, mirrored
- The drawing: coach B is drawn with coach C's windows, and each coach's end away from the locomotive with coach C's bands
- The drawing: the locomotive's grilles and livery bands are placed from photographs (to about 0.3 m); its other side is laid out differently
- Great British Railways: the unit: Diesel Almanac names 68021; the Department for Transport's photographs of 17 September 2026 show a GBR-branded Chiltern train without naming it. Whether any coaches were repainted isn't known, and no photograph has been found to draw from
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