British Rail Class 730

Class 730 unit alongside two Class 323 units at Soho Depot.

In October 2017, West Midlands Trains were awarded the franchise to operate local rail services around Birmingham and the West Midlands, suburban services to London Euston, and long-distance inter-urban services operating from both Euston and Birmingham New Street.[11] At the time the franchise was awarded, the company announced that it would procure more than 100 new trains at a cost of £680m[12] to replace older rolling stock and enhance its fleet. Of these, a total of 81 EMUs were ordered from Bombardier Transportation from its Aventra product range.[13] They are being built at Derby Litchurch Lane Works.[14] The first completed train was unveiled in September 2020.[12]

In 2022 the order was amended to increase the proportion of three-car units in the fleet, which will result in the delivery of 48 three-car units and 36 five-car units instead of the original plan for 36 three-car units, Class 730/0, and 45 five-car units, Class 730/1 and Class 730/2 – a total of 324 vehicles in 84 units.[15][5]

London Northwestern Railway Class 730/2 undergoing testing at Nuneaton

The Class 730 trains entered service on 13 November 2023[16] and were the second new fleet to be introduced by West Midlands Trains, following the Class 196 which entered service on 17 October 2022.[17]

The introduction of the 730s on the Cross-City line in 2024 will allow the Class 323s to be withdrawn,[18] 17 of which will be cascaded to Northern Trains.[19] The Class 730 will also allow for the withdrawal of the Class 350/2 units on the West Midlands Trains network.

The Class 730 was tested in Velim in the Czech Republic, as well as in the UK.[20] Testing of Class 730 units on the West Midlands Trains network began in March 2021,[21] and in February 2022 the then full order of 36 Class 730/0 units received authorisation for service from the Office of Rail and Road.[2]

The 3-car Class 730 units are currently being used on West Coast Main Line services out of London. This allowed for the withdrawal of Class 319s.[22] The first 3-car Class 730 entered passenger service on the Wolverhampton-Birmingham-Walsall services in February 2024,[23] with the units being introduced on Cross-City Line services in the Spring.[4][16][24][25] The first pair of Class 730s units entered service on the Cross-City Line on 15 April 2024.[26] The 3-car 730/0s will be maintained at Soho Depot in Birmingham which is the home depot of the Class 323s and the 5-car 730/2s will be maintained at Bletchley Depot in Milton Keynes.

The two separate batches are being constructed to operate at different maximum speeds to suit different uses. The 3-car Class 730/0 trains—designed for Cross-City Line and Birmingham local services—will operate at up to 90 mph (145 km/h)[12] and will double capacity on the Cross-City Line. The 5-car Class 730/2 trains will operate on outer suburban and long-distance LNR services and will operate at up to 110 mph (177 km/h).[12][14][27]

Illustration

Class 730 3-car unit