
CAF - West Midlands Trains Class 196
Jane Fisher, transition and projects director for West Midlands Railway: “The popularity of rail travel in the West Midlands is continuing to grow at a rapid rate, which is why we have pledged to invest £800m to help us keep up with demand."

The new mobile app will increase the staff's connectivity, flexibility and availability
The first complete Class 196 has arrived in the UK for testing and commissioning at Tyseley. It is the first of 80 vehicles, being built in two-car and four-car formations, that will be constructed by manufacturer CAF.
Mobile app for more connectivity, flexibility and availability
As part of the real-time passenger information system, Televic GSP will provide a new mobile app to increase the staff’s connectivity, flexibility and availability. From now on, the train staff can easily interact with the driver from any location on the train, give direct support to passengers who have activated the alarm and share emergency location coordinates.
Other features include:
- Activating prerecorded messages
- Making live announcements
- Changing journeys when entering a station
- Skipping stations along the route
More comfort for passengers and staff
Jane Fisher, transition and projects director for West Midlands Railway, is excited about the project: “These smart, modern trains will boost capacity on our network and come with features such as under-floor heating and extra luggage space which I am certain will prove popular with passengers.”
The DMUs are expected to enter passenger service from the second half of 2020, and will be used to increase capacity on the franchisee’s West Midlands Railway branded services between Hereford and Birmingham.

New build project in Europe (2018-2020)
Information
Country | United Kingdom |
Train Builder | CAF |
Train Operator | West Midlands Trains |
Kind of project | Regional Trains |
Number of Vehicles | 80 |
Year | 2018 - 2020 |