Transport for Wales Class 230 "D-Train" 230008 depart from Bidston

26/10/2023
230008 2J76
1448 (Sch. 1434) Bidston - Wrexham Central
Class 230 D-Trains have been introduced to the Borderlands Line for approximately half a year, running between Bidston in the Wirral Peninsula and Wrexham in North Wales. They are part of the Vivarail (which collapsed earlier) project of converting withdrawn London Underground D78 Tube Stock train carriages to main line 2 or 3 car trains, with a variety of options depending on where to use the converted units.
Interior is neat and fresh, with new accessible facilities installed while retaining a lot of the tube train feeling. One negative is the slightly cramped legroom in between the doors (that have remained mostly unchanged from its London Underground layout).
Another unit, 230007, ran on test duties (3T72/73/74/75) consisting of round trips on the Borderlands Line, however returning to depot (Birkenhead North EMUD) earlier than planned, cancelling 3T76 and 3T77, possibly due to delays with the service units (230008 and 150235).