New electric Northern Rail Class 331 trains are scheduled to commence service between Leeds and Skipton, the Airedale Line, on Monday 9th September. They will eventually replace the existing Class 322 electric trains. There was a launch event involving a trip in one of the 331s from Skipton to Leeds on 3rd September and those who attended were highly impressed. The photo, courtesy of Douglas Hodgins, shows one of the new trains at Skipton station.
They will not benefit the Settle-Carlisle Line directly, being electric, but new diesel trains are also being introduced on other lines in the North, and this will free up some nicely refurbished 158s for us. We are increasingly seeing these on our line and they are a big step forward.
