D-Trains entered passenger service on the national network on April 23, when 230004 worked the 0516 Bletchley-Bedford.
Operated by London Northwestern Railway and formed of Driving Motor Standard 300003 and DMS 300103, the two-car diesel unit is the first of three Class 230/0s to be used on the Marston Vale line.
They have been built by Vivarail at Long Marston, with LNW leasing them from the manufacturer. Their introduction will allow LNW to send three two-car Class 150/1s to Northern (150105/107/109).
The D-Train was rebuilt from ex-London Underground D-Stock vehicles 7100 and 7500. LNW said the other two trains (230003/005) will follow it into service during the spring.
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For the FULL story, read RAIL 878, published on May 8, and available digitally on Android, iPad and Kindle from May 4.
AndrewJG8918 - 26/04/2019 00:25
Well done London Northwestern Railway and Vivarail for introducing the Class 230 to operate on the Marston Vale Line between Bedford and Bletchley. LNR could also inherit few more Class 230s to operate on the Leamington Spa-Coventry-Nuneaton service and to work alongside with the Class 172 cascaded from London Overground. And to order few more to help boost the service on the Marston Vale Line as 3 Class 230s are to operate on the Bletchley-Bedford service. As 2 more Class 230s are coming in May.