New hybrid trains will be rolled out across North Wales lines next year.

Vivarail will supply a fleet of five class-230 D-Trains to KeolisAmey for the Wales and Borders franchise after they were chosen as the preferred bidder.

The new fleet of trains will be the first to come into service as part of the new Wales and Border contract and will service the Wrexham-Bidston, Conwy Valley and Chester-Crewe routes as of next year.

The fleet of trains will move to Wales for final testing and commissioning in early 2019.

Vivarail CEO, Adrian Shooter, said: “This is a very exciting day for us and we are proud to be supplying the first of the new trains for Wales.

“We know that KeolisAmey want to bring the best new trains to their passengers so our interior layout has been designed to do exactly that.

“As well as the wide and spacious carriages the trains will have a universal access toilet, WiFi, air conditioning, USB ports and three-pin sockets.

“There will be a range of seating layouts and plenty of space for bikes and luggage. With KeolisAmey we have been determined to give passengers the very best travelling experience and trains they deserve: modern, comfortable, reliable and environmentally-friendly. In conjunction with our partners at Creactive we have worked on a livery design that will be seen across the whole fleet.

“Our aim has always been to provide innovative solutions for operators and to that end I’m delighted to announce that our trains will be built as battery/diesel hybrids to cut down on emissions and make use of the exciting new technology we have developed over the past two years.

“Our trains will come into service in summer 2019 and will form the flagship fleet for Wales and Borders and I look forward to taking the first journey in North Wales next year.”

KeolisAmey Wales Cymru mobilisation director, Colin Lea, added: “We are proud to announce that KeolisAmey and Vivarail will provide a step-change in passenger comfort and service quality on three North Wales routes by introducing these units, fitted with the latest passenger comfort appliances.

“In addition, these innovative hybrid trains fitted with state of the art monitoring systems, will provide a significant change in performance and reliability, helping KeolisAmey to deliver a more reliable service for its customers.”

Design and build of the three-car trains is already underway at Vivarail’s two sites.