The fleet, which was designed and built in the UK by Alstom at its Derby factory, will initially be rolled out between Northampton and London Euston, calling at busy stations including Milton Keynes Central, Tring and Watford Junction. Later this year, the fleet will enter service on the Trent Valley line, travelling between Crewe and Euston and calling at stations including Lichfield Trent Valley, Nuneaton and Rugby.
“We are all incredibly proud to see the Class 730/2 fleet – designed and built right here in the UK at our Derby facility – enter service,” said Rob Whyte, Alstom's UK and Ireland Managing Director.
A five-car Class 730/2 has 406 seats, which is significantly more than the average 233 seats on the Class 350 trains that it is replacing. Many Class 730/2 trains will operate in pairs, providing 812 seats across ten carriages – more than the average 12 carriages of a Class 350 train. Alstom entered service for London Northwestern Railway.
Alstom has produced 2,660 cars for customers across the UK at its historic Derby Litchurch Lane Works since 2015 as part of the Aventra family of electric multiple-unit trains – making it the biggest train manufacturing programme in a generation. The first Class 730/2 to enter passenger service was the 16:19 departure from London Euston to Northampton on Monday, 9 June 2025, operated by units 730213 and 730233.
