A SIGNIFICANT number of CAF multiple-units working for Northern were taken out of service at the beginning of April after the failure of the weld holding a yaw damper bracket in place.
An urgent NIR (National Incident Report) issued on 3 April revealed that a yaw damper mounting bracket had completely detached from the body on vehicle No 102121 on Class 195 No 195121. The failure had been found during a maintenance exam. Checks were immediately started across Northern’s fleet of Class 195 and 331 units. The report notes that failure could result in a serious derailment as well as the possibility that the detachment of a section of the damper at speed, possibly as it rotated and became out of gauge – striking some lineside equipment, could result in someone being struck by it and seriously or fatally injured.
Northern has 101 CAF trains in its fleet – 58 Class 195 DMUs and 43 Class 331 EMUs, although one of the ‘195s’ has yet to enter service. A spokesperson for Northern said: ‘A fault has been identified on some of the new fleet of trains built by CAF and operated by Northern.
