The Rise, Fall And Second Chance Of The Class 175
The British Rail Class 175 Coradia is one of those trains that never became a national icon, but mattered greatly to the routes and passengers it served. Built by Alstom at Washwood Heath in Birmingham between 1999 and 2001, the class was part of a new generation of diesel multiple units intended to improve regional and longer-distance services. It was modern, air-conditioned, relatively fast and noticeably more comfortable than much of the older stock it replaced. For many passengers in Wales, the Marches, the North West and along the North Wales Coast, the Class 175 became a familiar part of inter-regional rail travel.
The fleet was not large. A total of 27 units were built, divided between 11 two-car Class 175/0 sets and 16 three-car Class 175/1 sets. They were part of Alstom’s Coradia 1000 family, sharing a broad design background with the Class 180 Adelante, although the two classes went on to have different careers. The 175s were diesel-hydraulic units with a maximum speed of 100mph, making them suitable for longer regional services where comfort and speed mattered more than metro-style acceleration.
Their original operator was First North Western, which introduced them from 2000. The aim was to upgrade services that had often depended on older trains, including work across North Wales and the North West. They were designed for routes where a basic commuter unit would not really be enough. Passengers on longer journeys needed decent seating, luggage space, air conditioning and a train that felt more like a regional express than a short-hop suburban unit. On paper, the Class 175 was a sensible answer.
The design had obvious strengths. The trains had wide bodysides, a fairly spacious interior, large windows and a more refined atmosphere than many British diesel units of the same era. They were not luxury trains, but they were a noticeable improvement over some of the Sprinter and older DMU stock that passengers had known for years. On routes such as Manchester to North Wales, Cardiff to Holyhead, and services through the Welsh Marches, that mattered. These were not five-minute suburban journeys; they were often long-distance regional trips where comfort had real value.
The early years were not entirely smooth. The Class 175s suffered from reliability problems after introduction, and their availability was not always what operators needed. That undermined the initial promise of a modern new fleet. Like several new trains introduced around the privatisation era, they needed time, modification and experience before they settled into more reliable service. Issues with brakes, bogies and general availability affected the reputation of the class, but the problems did not prevent the units from becoming important to the network they served.
The major turning point came with changes to franchise geography. Services that fitted naturally into the Wales and Borders network brought the Class 175s into a role where they would become far more strongly associated with Wales than with their original operator. Arriva Trains Wales inherited the class and used it extensively on longer-distance services. For many passengers, the 175 became the “proper” express DMU of the Welsh network: more comfortable than a Class 150, more suited to long runs than a basic commuter unit, and visually distinctive in its various liveries.
That association was important because Wales has always needed trains that can do more than one job. The same network has busy urban flows, rural branches, long coastal journeys and inter-regional services into England. A unit such as the Class 175 was useful because it could handle the longer end of that work. It was not ideal for every line, and it could not solve every capacity problem, but it gave Wales and the Borders a train with genuine inter-regional credentials.
Passengers often judged the class more kindly than reliability statistics did. The ride, seating and general interior environment made the 175s popular compared with more basic diesel units. On a long journey through North Wales, along the Marches or across South Wales, a Class 175 could feel like a decent train for the job. That is one reason the later decline of the class felt frustrating. The basic passenger product was not the problem. The issue was whether the fleet could be kept dependable enough for the work expected of it.
Under Transport for Wales, the Class 175s remained a prominent part of the fleet while new rolling stock was being introduced elsewhere. The units were refurbished between 2019 and 2022, which should have helped extend their useful life and keep them presentable for passengers. Yet their final years in Wales became increasingly difficult. Fleet availability became a serious concern, and the class was drawn into a wider period of rolling stock pressure across the Welsh network.
The most damaging chapter came in 2023, when a series of fire-related incidents and mechanical issues led to Class 175 units being withdrawn for additional checks and maintenance. Transport for Wales confirmed that a number of the trains had been temporarily withdrawn, while later board minutes referred to thermal events that led to the entire fleet being withdrawn from passenger service. No passengers or staff were injured in those incidents, but the effect on confidence was obvious. A train once associated with comfortable longer-distance journeys was suddenly associated with cancellations, shortages and safety checks.
That episode changed the tone of the Class 175 story. The trains were not simply old and worn out; they were relatively modern by the standards of some British regional rolling stock. But they had reached a point where maintenance, reliability and operator confidence had become decisive. Transport for Wales was already moving toward a different fleet strategy, with new trains arriving and older types being displaced. In that context, the 175s no longer looked central to the future of the Welsh network.
The irony is that the Class 175 was not a bad train in concept. It was built for the sort of journey that Britain’s regional railway often struggles to serve well: longer than a commuter hop, but not always treated as full inter-city travel. It had the speed, comfort and layout to suit those routes. Its problem was that a good concept still depends on dependable execution, maintenance support and fleet planning. When those elements weaken, even a comfortable train can become a liability.
After leaving Transport for Wales, the class did not disappear. Great Western Railway later agreed to lease 26 Class 175 units as part of plans to improve regional and suburban services. That move gave the fleet a route back into passenger use and suggested that the trains still had value if properly prepared and supported. It also showed how Britain’s rolling stock market often works: a train can lose its place with one operator but become a useful answer to another operator’s capacity or replacement problem.
For GWR, the appeal is understandable. The Class 175s are newer and more capable than some of the older diesel trains they are intended to replace, and their 100mph capability gives them flexibility. Routes in the South West include a mixture of local, regional and longer-distance work, with planned use linked to services including Exeter St Davids, Penzance, Barnstaple and Okehampton. A refurbished Class 175 could offer a better passenger environment than some existing stock. The challenge will be ensuring that their later Welsh reliability problems do not simply follow them into a new area.
That makes the Class 175 a fascinating case study in how railway reputations are made. To some passengers, they were comfortable, useful and well suited to the job. To others, especially in their final Transport for Wales period, they became associated with shortages and disruption. Both views can be true. A train can be good to travel on and still become operationally difficult. It can have strengths as a passenger product while still causing problems for the operator trying to run it.
The Class 175 also sits in an interesting place historically. It was part of the post-privatisation push to refresh Britain’s regional railway with new diesel trains. It was not as famous as the HST, not as controversial as the Pacer, and not as troubled in popular memory as the Class 180. Yet its career tells an important story about regional express travel, Welsh rail operations, rolling stock transfer and the long afterlife of trains built for one purpose but later needed somewhere else.
Its future now depends on whether its new role can give it a more stable final chapter. If GWR can make the units work reliably, the Class 175 may be remembered less for its troubled withdrawal from Wales and more as a comfortable train that found a second purpose. If not, it risks becoming another example of a capable fleet that never quite escaped its technical and operational baggage. Either way, the Class 175 deserves attention because it shows how complicated railway success can be: comfort, speed and modern design are only part of the story.
Image(s): Our Phellap & Transport for Wales
Related Stories