THE last of 26 Class 153s to be refurbished by Chrysalis Rail at Landore have been released back into service by Transport for Wales.
The final two units to be dealt with, former East Midlands Railway Nos. 153318/382 are now back in traffic – they had previously operated with Transport for Wales as Class 153/9 sets, retaining their previous operator’s colours, since early 2021, before entering the workshops at Landore earlier this year.
Over the past two years, Transport for Wales has increased its number of Class 153s from eight sets to 26, of which nine have been purchased outright from Angel Trains, along with another as a spares donor.
A further four, which last saw use with Northern, have been acquired from Angel for use as bike trains, similar to the five units rebuilt for use by ScotRail on the West Highland line.
Of the 26 sets which have undergone refurbishment, 17 have been fitted with a wheelchair-accessible toilet, while the remaining nine have undergone a ‘PRM-lite’ modernisation, with the original toilet locked out of use, but receiving other PRM modifications such as fitment of Passenger Information System displays.
These sets normally only operate with other units, or on
