page_title: British Rail Mark 5A
section_title: Description
hierarchical_section_title: British Rail Mark 5A / Description
caption_attribution_description: English: New TransPennine Express train with a Class 68 on the Northampton Loop between Rugby and Long Buckby. Not sure what this was doing in Northamptonshire, presumably on a test run or something.
context_page_description: The British Rail Mark 5A is the designation given to locomotive-hauled rail carriages built by Spanish manufacturer CAF for operation with TransPennine Express. The carriages first entered service on 24 August 2019.
context_section_description: It was first announced by TransPennine Express in 2016 that they were to procure 126 new vehicles from CAF, which included 66 Mark 5A locomotive-hauled coaches. They would be formed into 13 five-carriage sets, hauled by Class 68 locomotives. This equates to 65 coaches for total service, with the 66th coach being a spare Driving Trailer. 
  The sets are currently used on services between Liverpool and Scarborough and they will eventually work services between Manchester Airport and Redcar Central. Each set is composed of 1 first class carriage with guards area and catering provision, 1 standard class carriage with PRM toilet, 2 standard class carriages and a standard class Driving Trailer (DT). In October 2016, production started on these coaches, and in March 2017, CAF and TPE released a photo of the first completed bodyshell. 
  The first completed rake was sent for testing at Velim railway test circuit in March 2018, the second set being delivered straight to the UK in May 2018 via Portbury ahead of their planned entry into service in the autumn of that year. TransPennine Express have branded their new trains under the general name Nova, with the Class 68 + Mark 5A combination given the name Nova 3.
  In April 2019, the first Nova 3 set was officially handed over from CAF to TPE, after a mandatory period of fault-free running.
caption: TPE set of Class 68 with Mark 5 coaches, on a test run.
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "", "Image Make": "NIKON", "Image Model": "COOLPIX L28", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "300", "Image YResolution": "300", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "GIMP 2.8.22", "Image DateTime": "2019:04:13 16:50:28", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image ExifOffset": "224", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "300", "Thumbnail YResolution": "300", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "3052", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "4275", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/500", "EXIF FNumber": "53/10", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "80", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0230", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2019:04:11 15:20:16", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2019:04:11 15:20:16", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "4", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "17/5", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, auto mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "58/5", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "3296", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1644", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "2928", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "0", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "66", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF GainControl": "Low gain up", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal", "EXIF SubjectDistanceRange": "0"}