THE trains which will run on the Wales and Borders lines have been revealed, and they are to be built using old London Underground carriages.

Vivarail have announced that they will supply a fleet of Class 230 D-Trains to KeolisAmey for the Wales and Borders franchise.

They will be gutted and updated, and the first to come into service as part of the new franchise. The are being built using the bodyshells of D78 stock which ran on the District Line.

Design and build of the three-car trains is already underway at Vivarail’s two sites, and orders have been placed with the Universal Access Toilets based in Cwmbran.

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

Adrian Shooter, CEO of Vivarail, 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 3-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 the 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."