Complaints About Noisy Class 68 Trains at York & Comments on Noisy Northern Class 195's

Class 68 diesel trains at York are causing noise pollution for some residents.

Green Councillor Denise Craghill says she has been contacted by residents living close to the station complaining about an loud trains parked at Platform 4.

The noise is coming from the new TransPennine Express Nova trains which are powered by Stadler Class 68 diesel locomotives which haul sets of five mark 5A "Nova 3" coaches.

68029 standing at York station

Due to revised schedules, trains from Scarborough have been terminating in York rather than going through to Liverpool, so the problem has been caused by the class 68's idling at the station following the recent temporary schedule change.  

People are surprised to hear that this excess noise was being caused by the new Nova 3 diesel trains that were only introduced in 2019 and questioning why new trains are so much louder than old trains.

Noise pollution is an increasing problem and can be just as damaging for our health as air pollution.”

 68 030 heading north from York Station to Scarborough

Nova 3 trains use a powerful locomotive to haul five carriages, the older Class 185 trains had smaller engines underneath the train and didn’t make as much noise.

The 185's still operate some of the services to and from Malton and Scarborough.

City of York Councillor Denise Craghill said “Given the importance of doing more to reduce carbon emissions, it is disappointing that these new very noisy diesel trains have been introduced.

“Also I have been told that they take 15 mins to turn off and a further 15 minutes to turn back on, which according to the explanation I have been given, is a further reason for the long periods of idling experienced by nearby residents.”

There have been similar complaints of noise caused by the new trains in Scarborough.

See here

All class 68's are owned by Direct Rail Services who lease them to passenger operators. These include Chiltern Railways, Abellio ScotRail, and TransPennine Express. They haul various rakes of carriages and in some cases being fitted with push-pull apparatus, which allows the train to be operated from the other end of the train, using a DVT (driving van trailer)

Comments from the Editor

I must also criticise the engine noise from Northern's new Class 195 diesel units.

These recently introduced trains, manufactured by CAF, are much noisier than the trains they have replaced.

A noisy class 195 idles under the roof of Oxenholme Station

When idling under a station roof they certainly make their presence known and as they depart they are extremely noisy. 

Is this progress we ask? 

The trains are manufactured by CAF and owned by Eversholt Rail Group.