Sweden’s oldest operational station too, a true gem!

The ICE brand has also seen very little change since it was introduced, very iconic. I’d argue the same for the Frecciarossa brand tbh

That looks so terrible in comparison 😭

At most stations full level - the map here highlights at which ones 👍

Want to ride this train yourself? From today the set is working in passenger service along the Greenford branch all day on Saturday’s only, was certainly a good experience!

Interior wise it’s quite nice inside, especially for a 20 min journey. There are even posters inside explaining how the fast charge technology works and another claim to fame is it being London’s only tube train with a toilet! 😅

Initially tests were conducted on the line with solely GWR staff on board and late last year the 230 set a world record for running over 200 miles on a single battery charge.

At the beginning of 2023 however, GWR announced they had purchased Vivarail’s assets and employed a number of staff to continue the trial. The fast charge technology patent was included in the deal and subsequently installed at West Ealing thereafter.

Unfortunately Vivarail entered administration in late 2022 before the project officially kicked off and the 230s on the Marston Vale were withdrawn. Both the TfW and Island Line D-Trains remained in service as their maintenance is in house, but this also questioned the future of the battery trial.

Several variants of the “D-Train” entered service, the first being a DEMU variant on the Marston Vale Line. GWR later announced that the battery prototype version would operate on the Greenford branch in West London as a trial to test the technology’s capabilities.

This train is a former London Underground D78 stock unit used on the District Line that was “upcycled” by British start-up manufacturer Vivarail. Vivarail’s main aim with the upcycling was to offer affordable rolling stock primarily for branch lines and short regional runs, branded as “D-Train”.

That being said, I’m glad these sets are no longer rotting in storage and capacity wise this is going to be a massive improvement for Chiltern in the long run once the full rollout is completed. Let’s just hope the seats are changed eventually 😅

More to say in the future video, stay tuned ✌️

Ride quality was quite varied along the route depending on track quality (some parts of the CML were upgraded in recent years for 100mph running), but overall this still isn’t great. This was my biggest issue when the sets were with TPE (minus the Standard Class seats),

First class has been retained on the sets and is available only at a walk-up fee of £20 - just sit in any first class seat and pay. This is essentially a rebrand of the former Business Zone on the Mk3s. The upgrade is also fixed now and not varied by time of travel, which is a nice middle ground.

The head cushions for me are a massive no - the ones TPE use are fine, but these are solid as a rock like the old LNER Azuma ones. When I first got to my seat I saw one was removed and placed on the floor, I quickly found out why…

The elephant in the room is that these trains are the former TransPennine Express “Nova 3” sets that only saw 4 out of the 13 in daily use for 4 years, primarily on the York-Scarborough shuttles until their 2023 withdrawal. As such the interiors are basically the same (exc the Chiltern branding)

Was wondering why all bookings were shown as sold out!