New trains

The future on our network includes brand-new Class 730 trains

Although running on London Northwestern Railway routes, the first trains to be brought into service have an unfamiliar orange and purple colour scheme, because they will ultimately be operated by our sister company West Midlands Railway from 2024, when our 5/10-carriage Class 730s come online. The manufacturing plan which saw these WMR 3-carriage trains built ahead of their LNR 5-carriage counterparts was based on pre-pandemic capacity considerations and the anticipated lifespan of our existing fleet. We have adapted this in response to changing travel patterns and the retirement some of our oldest class 319 trains which are coming to the end of their operational life this year.

In November 2023 we began rolling out the first of our new Class 730 trains into service on routes to/from London Euston. The introduction of these modern trains will initially bring a long promised and much-needed capacity increase to our customers at places like Tring, Berkhamsted, Hemel Hempstead, Apsley, Kings Langley, Watford Junction and Bushey.

With their spacious carriages, each Class 730 is able to carry 201 seated passengers and 345 standing. As the trains will be running with six carriages, every service operated with Class 730s can carry more than 1,000 passengers, which is more than the eight-carriage Class 350s and Class 319s currently in service on the route. Over the next year, these 6 carriage trains will be further replaced by dedicated 10 carriage versions, as they roll off the production line.

Eventually, there will be 36 of these brand new trains operating on the LNR network. Here's here a sneak - behind the scenes - peak from the factory floor in Derby.

730 new trains

New features

As you can see from the images above we are in the early stages of assembling our new trains. We want you to know that we have put a lot of thought into what you as a customer need to have an enjoyable journey like:

  • Tables available throughout the train, including seat back tables
  • Plug sockets and USB points to charge on the go at every seat
  • Free WiFi to download and catch up with friends
  • More seats to allow more passengers on our trains
  • Dedicated disabled area to allow up to 2 wheelchairs
  • Bike storage which can take up to 3 bikes
  • Three toilets, including an accessible toilet, on every train
  • Passenger information screens to keep you informed of how your journey is progressing and where seats are available
  • Intelligent air conditioning that reacts to the number of passengers on board the train

When these trains are ready, they will go into service along our mainline network replacing some of our older electric trains.

Stay tuned and make sure you come back to stay up to date with the progress of our new trains.

730 Factsheet (PDF)

Where do the new 730 trains travel to?

730s route maps