 In July 1997, North West Trains placed an order with Alstom for 27 sets.The original order was for eleven two-carriage units with a top speed of 100 mph, seven three-carriage units with a top speed of 100 mph and nine three-carriage units with a top speed of 125 mph.This was reconfigured to eleven two-carriage and sixteen three-carriage units all with a top speed of 100 mph.