The iconic Class 333 red trains that carry tens of thousands of passengers every day between Leeds, Bradford, Ilkley and Skipton are celebrating their 10th birthday.
Over 110 million passenger journeys have been made on the Class 333 trains since they were introduced on 23 January 2001.
Operated by Northern Rail and built and maintained by Siemens, each of the 16 trains has travelled over one million miles – the equivalent of travelling to the moon and back twice and setting off on the third trip! Their introduction followed the electrification of the Airedale and Wharfedale routes in the 1990s, which was funded by Metro.
Originally introduced with three carriages, the 333s immediately proved popular with passengers and a fourth carriage was added to each train as a trial, before being made permanent in 2007.
