UTA 70 class was a diesel multiple unit train built for service on Northern Ireland Railways. The MED’s and MPD’s, which made use of readily available power and transmission units, were cheap to operate but noisier and not as comfortable as locomotive-hauled rolling stock, a fact which made them unsuitable for Inter-City journeys. The decision was made to develop a new generation of multiple unit and in July 1966 the first of the new DEMU sets entered service.