Arriva Rail North Ltd have announced an order for 98 new trains to be built by Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF) and leased from Eversholt Rail. They comprise 25 two-car & 30 three-car diesel multiple units (DMUs) and 31 three-car & 12 four-car electric multiple units (EMUs). These will be the first multiple units built by CAF for the UK mainland, though a batch of CAF DMUs was built for Northern Ireland Railways in 2011/12. CAF is also building the new coaches for the Caledonian Sleeper
Whilst these trains will eliminate Pacers by 2019, will we see any on the Coastline or will we get 156 & 150 Sprinters cascaded from other routes? Meanwhile it is not yet clear whether the proposed Northern Connect service linking Middlesbrough, Newcastle and Carlisle will run via Hartlepool and Sunderland or via Ferryhill and Durham