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Class 730 Aventra
Bombardier's Aventra for West Midlands Trains: five-car 730/2s for LNR's routes from Euston, and three-car 730/0s for West Midlands Railway's Cross-City line, Wolverhampton-Walsall and Rugeley-Birmingham International services. Ordered from Bombardier in December 2017 and financed by Corelink: 36 three-car and 45 five-car trains, the five-car as outer-suburban 730/1s and long-distance 730/2s. The order was changed to 48 three-car 730/0s and 36 five-car 730/2s, all standard class: 324 cars. The first, 730 001, was tested at Velim from August 2020, but testing and approval took three more years. Three-car 730/0s were the first in passenger service anywhere, on LNR's Bletchley-Euston trains on 13 November 2023. West Midlands Railway's began between Wolverhampton and Walsall in February 2024 and on the Cross-City line on 15 April 2024, replacing the Class 323s. The 730/2s, delayed by cab noise above 90 mph (145 km/h), entered service between Northampton and Euston on 9 June 2025, reached the Trent Valley line in December 2025 and replaced LNR's Class 350/2s. Porterbrook bought the fleet in January 2026, and West Midlands Trains passed into public ownership on 1 February 2026.
Shown
Scale
237 ft (72.23 m) (the cars’ lengths added)
Class 730 Aventra · schematic drawing GB Trains · gbtrains.uk/stock/730/ · CC BY 4.0
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Liveries 2
The same measured train in each livery, each drawn from a cited source. The drawing above shows the largest fleet’s.
Special liveries 1
- Pride (rainbow diamonds), 730018 "Hurst Street" Named on 23 May 2024, ahead of Birmingham Pride: a rainbow diamond motif and the word PRIDE (lettering, which the site's drawings leave off).
- Type
- Electric multiple unit
- Builder
- Bombardier Transportation (now Alstom), Derby
- Family
- Aventra, with Class 345, Class 710 Aventra, Class 720 Aventra, Class 701 Arterio
- Built
- 2020 onwards
- In service
- since 2023
- Operators
- LNR, WMR
- Formation
- 5 cars (Class 730/2, LNR); 3 cars (Class 730/0, West Midlands Railway)
- Trains in fleet
- 84: 36 five-car and 48 three-car
- Fleets
- London Northwestern Railway: 36; West Midlands Railway: 48
- Top speed
- 110 mph (177 km/h) for the 730/2s; 90 mph (145 km/h) for the 730/0s
- Power
- 25 kV AC overhead · how it works
- Bogies
- Bombardier FLEXX Eco bogies · drawn with the same bogie component as Class 345, Class 701 Arterio, Class 710 Aventra, Class 720 Aventra
- Train length
- 237 ft (72.23 m) (the cars’ lengths added)
- Coupled
- 2 × 3 cars, about 474 ft (144 m) (the units’ lengths added); 2 × 5 cars, about 792 ft (241 m) (the units’ lengths added)
- Car height
- 12 ft 4 in (3.75 m)
- Profile
- main-line
- Seats per train
- 406 (five-car 730/2); 199 or 201 (three-car 730/0)
- Total capacity
- 730/2: 406 seats, all standard class (812 in two coupled units). 730/0: 199 seats (LNR and WMR fact sheet; Rail Engineer, 2024) or 201 seats and 345 standing, 546 in all (West Midlands Railway, February 2024)
- Status
- In service. LNR's 36 five-car 730/2s run from Euston to Northampton and Birmingham, and since December 2025 on the Trent Valley line to Crewe; their rollout was complete by June 2026. West Midlands Railway's 48 three-car 730/0s run on the Cross-City line, between Wolverhampton and Walsall, and between Rugeley and Birmingham International. West Midlands Trains has been publicly owned (DfT Operator) since 1 February 2026. The trains have been owned by Porterbrook since January 2026, and the 730/2s are maintained at Bletchley.
Car types
| Code | Car | Length | Doors per side |
|---|---|---|---|
| DM | Driving motor (DM) | 78 ft 10 in24.018 m | 2 double |
| M1L | Motor with toilet (M1L) | 79 ft 5 in24.199 m | 2 double |
| PMLW | Pantograph motor with the accessible toilet and wheelchair spaces (PMLW) | 79 ft 5 in24.199 m | 2 double |
| M2L | Motor with toilet (M2L) | 79 ft 5 in24.199 m | 2 double |
| DMC | Driving motor (DMC, the ORR's code: first class was once planned; the 730/2s run all standard class) | 78 ft 10 in24.018 m | 2 double |
The three-car 730/0 is DM1-PMLW-DM2 (the ORR's names), drawn with the DM, PMLW and DMC above.
Sources
How we source figures → · Spotted a mistake? Tell us → (opens in a new tab)
Show the 47 sources from Wikimedia Commons, West Midlands Railway, London Northwestern Railway and 13 more
- West Midlands Trains finalises £680m deal for new trains with Bombardier and CAF West Midlands Trains, 12 December 2017order from Bombardier, Derby, in December 2017, financed by Corelink (the history)
- Class 730 fact sheet (archived) London Northwestern Railway, 2025730/2: 36 five-car units, 110 mph (177 km/h), 406 seats; 730/0: 48 three-car units, 199 seats; the 730/0s' routes, Rugeley-Birmingham International among them
- Authorisation letter: Alstom Aventra Class 730/0 and 730/2 Office of Rail and Road, 29 January 2024authorisation of 730201–730236
- London Northwestern Railway welcomes Class 730 fleet into passenger service London Northwestern Railway, 13 November 2023first passenger service, 13 November 2023: three-car 730/0s on Bletchley-Euston trains
- New London Northwestern Railway fleet to transform travel for millions of Euston passengers London Northwestern Railway, 9 June 2025730/2 in service from 9 June 2025
- West Midlands Trains' new rolling stock and depots Rail Engineer, 19 August 2024order changes, delays, car length
- Porterbrook acquires Corelink fleets Porterbrook, 8 January 2026Porterbrook ownership
- Class 730 train side view (photograph of a 730/0 on test at Velim) West Midlands Railway, 13 August 2020cab length and cab bogie, checked by a projective fit (drawing)
- 730 235, Stafford (photograph, CC BY 4.0) Wikimedia Commons (kitmasterbloke), 8 October 2025LNR colours, cab door window and cab side window; livery checked against the elevation (drawing)
- 730 203, Atherstone (photograph, CC BY 4.0) Wikimedia Commons (kitmasterbloke), 23 July 2026LNR colours; livery checked against the elevation (drawing)
- 730 214 and 730 221, Cathiron (drone photograph, CC BY 4.0) Wikimedia Commons (kitmasterbloke), 27 April 2026LNR livery on cars 1-5, checked against the elevation (drawing)
- New train fleets for West Midlands Trains: Class 730 Aventra livery side elevations (Trainpreview_Aventra-LNR-WMR) Sam Jessup Design, undated (on the page by 27 May 2024), p. single image (LNR row)cab, cab door, end-door housing, window band and livery pattern; doors and windows checked against the Class 720 (drawing)
- New train livery: Bombardier Aventra five-car side elevations and cab fronts Greater Anglia (artwork by Bombardier Transportation), 24 February 2017, p. single imagecar body, doors, windows, bogies and heights shared with the Class 720 (drawing)
- 730210 departs Crewe (photograph, CC BY 4.0) Wikimedia Commons (kitmasterbloke), 4 September 2025livery seen from the other end of the train (drawing)
- West Midlands Railway: Class 730 fleet enters service between Wolverhampton and Walsall (archived) West Midlands Railway, 13 February 2024first 730/0 in West Midlands service 12 February 2024 (730018); 48 three-car trains; 201 seats + 345 standing
- West Midlands Railway: New trains enter service on Birmingham's iconic Cross City Line (archived) West Midlands Railway, 15 April 2024Cross-City line from 15 April 2024, units in pairs
- West Midland Trains Class 730/0 (side view of a three-car Class 730/0 in West Midlands Railway livery, CC BY-SA 4.0) Wikimedia Commons (WestRail642fan), 14 November 2020, revised to 15 July 2025layout of the middle cars' underframe equipment (the 730/0's, assumed the same on the 730/2; unchecked)
- New train fleets for West Midlands Trains: Class 730 Aventra livery side elevations (Trainpreview_Aventra-LNR-WMR) Sam Jessup Design, undated (on the page by 27 May 2024)extent of the middle cars' underframe equipment
- FLEXX appeal: Bombardier's bogie family explained Rail Engineer, 10 October 2013the bogies: Bombardier's FLEXX Eco (the B5000 family), built into the Aventra
- Class 345 Stock information sheet, 1st edition (file "Class 345 Data Sheet ver 3", released under FOI-0416-2223) Transport for Londonthe bogie drawing's layout: the Class 345's bogies as its data sheet renders them (pp. 2-4)
- 720540 MSO (photograph, CC BY-SA 4.0) Wikimedia Commons (Peter Skuce), 18 September 2021the bogie drawing's layout: an Aventra bogie nearly side on (layout only)
- River Stour Viaduct - Greater Anglia 720539 Ipswich train.JPG: a five-car 720 near side on, its pantograph raised (photograph, CC BY-SA 4.0) Wikimedia Commons (Geof Sheppard), 10 April 2024the drawing's pantograph: its place along the car (the Class 720's, the same body; photograph, layout only)
- West Midland Trains Class 730/0 (side view of a three-car Class 730/0 in West Midlands Railway livery, CC BY-SA 4.0) Wikimedia Commons (WestRail642fan), 14 November 2020, revised to 15 July 2025the drawing's pantograph: its end and which way it folds (side diagram of a 730/0, layout only)
- 730 226 Stafford 081025.jpg: a five-car 730/2 from the front, its pantograph raised on car 3 (photograph, CC BY 4.0) Wikimedia Commons (kitmasterbloke), 9 October 2025the drawing's pantograph: on the PMLW at its end with the ordinary door, the base frame between that door and the end (raised; photograph, layout only)
- Class 710 stock information sheet (released under FOI-0117-2425) Transport for London, p. 2the drawing's pantograph: the folded height and insulators (the Class 710's, another Aventra, measured)
- 730210 departs Crewe (photograph, CC BY 4.0) Wikimedia Commons (kitmasterbloke), 4 September 2025the drawing's pantograph: folded on car 3 (the PMLW) at one end, between its last doorway and the gangway, seen from the other cab (a second photograph, with 730 226; layout only)
- British Rail Class 345 (infobox: wheel diameter 825-750 mm new-worn, wheelbase 2.25 m, citing Bombardier Transportation, 'Business Unit Bogies - Product Portfolio Presentation', January 2018) Wikipedia, read 11 October 2026the drawing's wheels: 2 ft 8 in (825 mm) new (Bombardier's figure, as Wikipedia gives it)
- '730 016 at Brimingham New Street, 15 April 2026.jpg' (photograph, full size 6,000 x 4,000: 730016 in West Midlands Railway colours, three-quarter from the cab end; CC BY-SA 4.0) Wikimedia Commons (hugh llewelyn, CC BY-SA 4.0), 15 April 2026the round cover and the cab door's grips (details follow-up, 11 October 2026; rectified on the door window, about 80 mm)
- 720 101 Greater Anglia Bombardier Aventra EMU, Spellbrook (photograph, CC BY 2.0) Wikimedia Commons, 26 November 2024the gangways: the dark diaphragm between the cars to the roof's top (set AV, AV10; side on)
- 720540 MSO (photograph, CC BY-SA 4.0) Wikimedia Commons (Peter Skuce), 18 September 2021the gangway's diaphragm below the body foot and into the roof's curve (set AV, AV10; close, layout only)
- 730223 and 730235 at Crewe.jpg (photograph, CC BY 4.0) Wikimedia Commons (Three76Five43Nine72, CC BY 4.0), 18 August 2026the windscreen's pale trim and its sweep to the housing above the headlamp; the cab side window's place and top-front chamfer (layout only; job wrap)
- Class 730/2 enters service Rail Engineer, 27 August 2025730/2: 812 seats in ten cars (406 a unit); 79 ft (24 m) cars; 36 five-car units replacing 37 Class 350/2s; entry delayed by cab noise above 90 mph (145 km/h); Bletchley depot
- Aventra for WMT on test at Velim Railvolution, 13 August 2020730 001 on test at Velim from 9 August 2020; three-car units over 236 ft (72 m) and five-car over 397 ft (121 m; design stage); the five-car's first class once planned
- The first Class 730 train for Birmingham's Cross City Line is complete RailAdvent, 9 September 2020the first train completed at Derby (9 September 2020): built from 2020
- London Northwestern Railway celebrates one year of new electric train fleet London Northwestern Railway, 9 June 2026the 730/2 rollout complete by 9 June 2026; the Trent Valley line to Crewe from December 2025; 406 seats
- London Northwestern Railway celebrates one year of its Alstom Aventra fleet in the UK Alstom, 11 June 2026the 730/0s on the Cross-City line, Wolverhampton-Walsall and Rugeley-Birmingham International; the 730/2 rollout complete (June 2026)
- West Midlands Trains services transferred into public ownership Department for Transport (gov.uk), 1 February 2026West Midlands Trains (LNR and West Midlands Railway) publicly owned, managed by DfT Operator, from 1 February 2026
- New era of rail travel to begin as West Midlands Railway unveils electric train fleet West Midlands Railway, 8 February 2024730/0: 201 seated and 345 standing, 546 in all; 48 three-car trains
- 730 008 022 037 Birmingham New St 081025.jpg (photograph, CC BY 4.0) Wikimedia Commons, 8 October 2025 (the file name; the file's date field reads 10 October 2025)the driving cars' underframe layout (DM, DMC): positions along the car and heights, rectified and set-in corrected (photograph, from above)
- 730 203, Atherstone (photograph, CC BY 4.0) Wikimedia Commons (kitmasterbloke), 23 July 2026the driving cars' underframe: a check of the order of the cases and boxes on a 730/2 (three-quarter, layout only)
- British Rail Class 730 at Milton Keynes Central.jpg (photograph, CC BY-SA 4.0) Wikimedia Commons (Jsalty254), 21 January 2025the cab coupler: its kind, place and heights (set BC6, 20 October 2026; layout only for photographs)
- '730 016 at Brimingham New Street, 15 April 2026.jpg' (photograph: 730016 in West Midlands Railway colours, three-quarter from the cab end; CC BY-SA 4.0) Wikimedia Commons (hugh llewelyn, CC BY-SA 4.0), 15 April 2026the livery's layout (the gold cab end, door surrounds and car ends, the window band), colours sampled
- 'West Midlands Railway Class 730 Aventra EMU (730035).jpg' (photograph: 730035 leading a pair, three-quarter from the cab end; CC BY-SA 4.0) Wikimedia Commons (Samson Ng, CC BY-SA 4.0), 23 April 2025the layout on both units of a pair, colours sampled (sun); the blue accessible door's colour (#2737A8) and its panel's height, about 5 ft 1 in to 9 ft 10 in (1,545-3,000 mm; three-quarter)
- A few less bricks in the wall - 730037 Andover St Bridge.jpg (photograph, CC BY 4.0) Wikimedia Commons, December 2025 (the file's date field: 17 December 2025)the blue accessible door on the middle car's door at the end away from the raised pantograph; the whole unit side on (photograph; layout only); the green band on the middle car's ordinary door, its colour sampled (set TF, 20 October 2026)
- On Deep Reflection - 730005 Andover St Bridge.jpg (photograph, CC BY 4.0) Wikimedia Commons, December 2025 (the file's date field: 17 December 2025)the blue accessible door at the end of the middle car away from the raised pantograph; the panel's width, height and corners, square on (photograph; about 60 mm); the gold on the door leaves only, purple beside and above them; the green band on the middle car's ordinary door, 5 ft 1 in to 6 ft 0 in (1,557-1,830 mm), its colour sampled (set TF, 20 October 2026); the black window band meeting the doors at window height (set TFF, Kyle, 26 October 2026)
- West Midlands Railway new train named Hurst Street ahead of Birmingham Pride West Midlands Railway, 23 May 2024the unit, its name, the motif, 23 May 2024
- A Guide to Overhead Electrification (132787-ALB-GUN-EOH-000001, rev 10) Network Rail (prepared by Alan Baxter), February 2015, p. 39the contact wire in the In operation drawing: 15 ft 5 in (4.7 m) above rail, Network Rail's normal height
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unverified
- Car length: 79 ft (24 m; Rail Engineer, 2024 and 2025), not printed per car type; drawn 79 ft 5 in (24.2 m) over couplers for the intermediate cars (the Class 720's)
- Built: the build's end isn't published; the 730/2 rollout was complete by 9 June 2026 (LNR)
- The drawing: Sam Jessup Design's livery elevation prints no dimensions; scaled to the Class 720's measured layout, which it matches to within 7 mm, so the doors, windows, bogies and car body are the 720's
- Driving car 78 ft 9 in (24.0 m) over couplers (77 ft 4 in (23.56 m) body): measured, not published; its cab is about 1 ft 3 in (370 mm) shorter than the 720's; Railvolution (2020) gives the three-car over 236 ft (72 m) and the five-car over 397 ft (121 m); as drawn 237 ft (72.23 m) and 396 ft (120.63 m)
- Car height 12 ft 4 in (3.75 m): the Class 720's, measured, not published (the elevation's cab roof agrees; it draws the saloon roof about 140 mm lower)
- Colours: sampled from photographs; no paint references have been published
- Livery shapes: from the designer's elevation, a design-stage drawing (it shows first-class markings the 730/2s don't carry); photographs agree on the pattern
- Cab side window and cab door window: from photographs; the elevation simplifies them
- Not drawn: the roof equipment
- 730/0 seats: 199 (LNR fact sheet, Rail Engineer) or 201 (West Midlands Railway)
- The drawing's pantograph: its car and end from photographs of 730 226 and 730 210 (layout only); which half of the train it faces (M1L or M2L) is assumed; its place, length and height are the Class 720's; on the 730/0, 730037 and 730005 (December 2025, side on) show it raised at the middle car's end away from the accessible door, as drawn
- Wheels 2 ft 8 in (825 mm) new: Wikipedia's Class 345 page, citing Bombardier's 2018 bogie portfolio presentation (not seen), taken for every FLEXX Eco Aventra
- The round cover and the cab door's grips (details follow-up, 11 October 2026): one three-quarter photograph, so placed to about 80 mm along
- The driving cars' underframe: from one near-square photograph taken from above (730037), positions about 150 mm and heights about 80 mm after a set-in correction (assumed 200 mm); 730203 confirms the order only; the DM's own side isn't photographed (it shows the DMC's side's layout from the cab); the dark mass behind the cab bogie may be equipment further in; the middle cars' layout is unchecked
- West Midlands Railway: the gold areas' edges are read on two three-quarter photographs against the doors and windows (about 200 mm)
- West Midlands Railway: the 730/0's cars are drawn as the 730/2's (the same Aventra body: the diagram and photographs show the same doors and windows); its middle car as the 730/2's pantograph car
- West Midlands Railway: colours: sampled from two photographs in different light and averaged; no paint references found
- West Midlands Railway: the rhombuses: a regular lattice fitted to the designer's elevation and 730016; the elevation draws them a little irregularly (column gaps 60-205 mm), which the lattice evens out; positions good to about 100 mm
- West Midlands Railway: the gold cantrail line: drawn at LNR's orange line's height, 10 ft 10 in to 10 ft 11 in (3,302-3,337 mm); read as about 35-40 mm on 730037, from above (0.145 px a mm), and seen on 730016
- West Midlands Railway: the blue accessible door: its end from 730037 and 730005 (Andover Street, December 2025, side on), which show it at the end of the middle car away from the raised pantograph, as the record's note from 730 226 has it; 730035, a three-quarter view, had been read the other way. Its panel, 5 ft 1 in to 9 ft 11 in (1,550-3,020 mm), 4 ft 4 in (1,330 mm) wide and with 140 mm corners, is from the designer's elevation, 730035 and 730005 (about 60 mm); the wheelchair symbols are left out
- West Midlands Railway: the green door band: on the middle car's ordinary door on 730005 and 730037 (two photographs, Andover Street); not seen on the driving cars' doors (730037 at New Street, 730005); its height read on 730005 (about 30 mm), its colour the mean of two photographs in different light; what it marks isn't published
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