IN early-September, TransPennine Express confirmed that the Nova 3 fleet would be removed from traffic (RE329).
Ordered when First Group took sole charge of the trans-Pennine franchise in April 2016, the plan was that CAF would deliver 66 Mk.5A coaches, formed into 13 five-coach sets, with traction supplied by brand-new Class 68s subleased from Direct Rail Services (DRS).
The locomotive-hauled trains were branded Nova 3 as they were to be the first of the three new fleets ordered by TPE to enter traffic, to be followed by the CAF Class 397s (Nova 2s) and Hitachi Class 802/2s (Nova 1s). The thinking behind the Mk.5As was that TPE would take advantage of the ongoing order for Mk.5s from Caledonian Sleeper and so would be able to get the stock into traffic quickly.
That didn’t happen.
Press and stakeholders were invited to the Czech Republic in April 2018 to see the first Nova 3 on test at the Velim test track. However, it was to be November 2019 before the full Nova launch took place at Liverpool. Four months later, the pandemic hit, affecting already-delayed training. This meant that the planned introduction of the Nova
