British Rail Class 350
| British Rail Class 350 Desiro | |
|---|---|
 A West Midlands Trains Class 350/2 at Watford Junction | |
 Refurbished Class 350/1 standard class interior of West Midlands Trains | |
| In service | June 2005 – present[1] |
| Manufacturer | Siemens Mobility |
| Built at | Krefeld, Germany |
| Family name | Desiro |
| Replaced | |
| Constructed | |
| Number built | 87 trainsets |
| Successor | |
| Formation | 4 cars per trainset |
| Fleet numbers |
|
| Capacity | Seated standard class: 193–246 Seated first class: 19–24 Standing: 117–149[5] |
| Operators | West Midlands Trains |
| Specifications | |
| Car length | 20.34 m (66 ft 9 in)[6] |
| Width | 2.80 m (9 ft 2+1⁄4 in)[6] |
| Maximum speed | 110 mph (180 km/h)[6] |
| Traction system | IGBT-VVVF (Siemens SIBAS32) |
| Traction motors | Asynchronous (Siemens 1TB2016-0GB02)[6] |
| Power output | 250 kW (335 hp) (per motor)[6] 2,000 kW (2,680 hp) (per unit) |
| Electric system(s) |
|
| Current collector(s) |
|
| UIC classification | Bo'Bo'+2'2'+2'2'+Bo'Bo' |
| Bogies | Siemens SGP SF5000[7] |
| Braking system(s) | Air, regenerative |
| Coupling system | Dellner |
| Multiple working | Within class |
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge |
The British Rail Class 350 Desiro is a class of electric multiple-unit passenger train in use by West Midlands Trains under its London North Western Railway sub-brand. 87 four-car units were built by Siemens Mobility between 2004 and 2014 across four sub-classes.
The Siemens Desiro UK family also includes units of Classes 185, 360, 380, 444, and 450.
Description
The Class 350/1 units were originally part of an order for 32 five-car Class 450 units for South West Trains. However, they were never built as such. Of the 160 carriages ordered, 40 were diverted as an additional 10 four-car Class 450 units, and the remaining 120 were modified as 30 four-car Class 350/1 units.[citation needed] These entered service in 2005 and were used jointly by Central Trains and Silverlink, both owned by National Express. The top speed of the fleet was originally 100 mph (160 km/h), but all 350/1s were modified to allow 110 mph (180 km/h) running from December 2012, in order to make better use of paths on the busy West Coast Main Line.[citation needed]
In late 2007, a second batch of 37 units were ordered by London Midland to replace its Class 321 units. Designated as Class 350/2 units, they entered service between 2008 and 2009. Class 350/2s differ from the Class 350/1 units in two key aspects: they have 3+2 seating in standard class (because they work short-hop commuter services; the Class 350/1 used for longer distance services are 2+2 throughout[2][1]) and lack the dual-voltage capability of the 350/1. Initially, Class 350/2 units had a maximum speed of 100 mph (160 km/h), but the fleet was upgraded to allow 110 mph running during 2018.[8] This was to allow the operators to run mixed 350/1 and 350/2 services without causing delays, especially important given the capacity changes which HS2 works at London Euston were expected to cause.[9]
Between 2013 and 2014, a further 20 units were manufactured for London Midland and First TransPennine Express. Each took on ten units, the former designated the Class 350/3 and the latter the Class 350/4.
Class 350 trains are nearly identical to those of Class 450. The latter class is only fitted with traction equipment for Southern Region 750 V DC third rail, whilst the Class 350/1 units can operate from either 25 kV 50 Hz AC OLE, as is done in regular service, or alternatively third rail.[2] This dual-voltage capability was utilised when several units were leased to Southern in 2008 and 2009, in order to cover for similarly equipped Class 377/2 units temporarily sub-leased to First Capital Connect, themselves to cover for delays in the construction of the 377/5 fleet.[10] All Class 350 units built since are not equipped for third-rail use but, like most modern British EMUs, can be retrofitted if necessary.
Every set of doors has its own set of guard-operated door controls behind a lockable panel. The cabs have three radio systems - Cab Secure Radio (CSR), National Radio Network (NRN), and the newest system, GSM-R. CCTV and dot-matrix destination screens are fitted throughout the train.
Current operation
West Midlands Trains
All of London Midland's 77 Class 350s were inherited by West Midlands Trains on 9 December 2017. WMT operate all of the units under their London Northwestern Railway brand. A further 10 units were transferred from TransPennine Express between 2019 and 2020.
The fleet is based at the purpose-built Kings Heath depot at Kingsthorpe, Northampton, which opened in June 2006 and can also service Class 319 and other Desiro units if required.
Former operations
Central Trains / Silverlink
Central Trains and Silverlink shared the 30 Class 350/1 units from 2005 to 2007.
The first Class 350 units entered service in June 2005 with Central Trains.[1] These were operated on services between Birmingham and Northampton via Coventry, and all Birmingham - Liverpool services, replacing Class 170 units. Later on, the units also took over some peak services between Birmingham and Walsall.
Silverlink began operating the fleet in July 2005 between London Euston - Milton Keynes Central and Northampton.[11]
The Central Trains and Silverlink franchises expired in November 2007.
London Midland
Once the Central Trains and Silverlink franchises expired, the entire Class 350 fleet transferred to London Midland, the holder of the then new West Midlands franchise.
As part of the franchise agreement, London Midland embarked on the acquisition of a significant number of new trains, the largest order of which was for 37 additional Class 350 units. On 8 October 2008, the first of these was handed over to Porterbrook and carried invited guests around the Wildenrath Test Track.[3] The first ten 350/2 units entered service in December 2008[3] and the final unit was officially delivered to London Midland on 30 July 2009.[12] In addition to the existing operations, these units took over the new Crewe - London Euston service running via Stoke-on-Trent and stopping at most of the Trent Valley Line stations.
Four 350/1 units were subleased to Southern from 2008 to 2009, to provide cover for Class 377 units subleased to First Capital Connect. After newer Class 377 Electrostar trains were built, these units were returned to London Midland.[10]
A further 10 four-car units were built later on in the franchise to provide additional capacity,[4][13] entering service from October 2014 as Class 350/3 units.
First TransPennine Express / TransPennine Express
In 2013, 10 Class 350/4 units were introduced for First TransPennine Express services between Manchester and Edinburgh / Glasgow, coinciding with the completion of the electrification of the eastern section of the Manchester to Liverpool via Newton-le-Willows line.[4][14] The first First TransPennine Express Class 350/4 services ran on 30 December 2013 between Manchester Piccadilly and Glasgow Central.[15] The introduction of these units allowed most services on the Manchester to Scotland route to be operated using EMUs, displacing the Class 185s which were cascaded to other routes to enhance capacity.[14] The units were based at Siemens' existing Ardwick depot, with the government providing funding for the required electrification.[16]
Following the transfer of the franchise to TransPennine Express in 2016, 12 Class 397 Civity units were ordered to replace the Class 350s on TransPennine North West services. All 10 units moved to West Midlands Trains, the first in Summer 2019 and the last by 5 April 2020.
Future
West Midlands Trains announced that they would be replacing the Class 350/2 units with brand new Class 730 "Aventra" units.[17]
In October 2018, Porterbrook announced it was considering converting its fleet of Class 350/2s to battery electric multiple units for potential future cascades to non-electrified routes.[18][19]
Fleet details
The Class 350/1s, 350/3s, and 350/4s are owned by Angel Trains and the Class 350/2s are owned by Porterbrook.[6][20]
| Class | Operator | No. Built | Year Built | Unit nos. | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 350/1 | West Midlands Trains | 30 | 2004–05 | 350101–130 | Dual voltage |
| 350/2 | 37 | 2008–09 | 350231–267 | ||
| 350/3 | 10 | 2014 | 350368–377[21] | ||
| 350/4 | 10 | 2013–14 | 350401–410[21] |
Named units
- 350110 - Project 110 (denamed as of LNR relivery 08/2021)[citation needed]
- 350111 - Apollo [11] (denamed as of LM relivery)
- 350115 - Archimedes [11] (denamed as of LM relivery)
- 350232 - Chad Varah[22] (denamed as of LNR relivery)
- 350370 - Lichfield Festival[23] (denamed as of LNR relivery)
- 350375 - Vic Hall[24]
- 350377 - Graham Taylor OBE[25]
Accidents and incidents
On 16 September 2016, unit 350264 struck a landslide at the entrance to Watford Tunnel and was derailed. Unit 350117, which was working in multiple, was undamaged. Unit 350233 then collided with the derailed train. Two people were injured and unit 350264 was severely damaged. The leading carriage of 350233 was severely damaged, and all four carriages were damaged along one side.[26] The consequences were not as serious as they could potentially have been because the derailed train was fortuitously kept from diverging too far from its line by equipment on the bottom of the train catching on the rail, meaning 350233 struck only a glancing blow.[27] On 10 November 2016, unit 350264 was moved to Germany by low-loader,[28] followed later by 350233. Both units re-entered service in early 2018.
References
- ^ a b c "Central Trains launches Class 350 EMU". Archived 2 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine Railway Herald. Issue 11. Page 3. 10 June 2005. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
- ^ a b c d Desiro UK Class 350/1 Multiple Unit Archived 6 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine - Siemens Mobility. Page 40. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
- ^ a b c "Siemens hands over first 'Desiro' EMU" Archived 2 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Railway Herald. Issue 151. Page 4. 13 October 2008. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
- ^ a b c "New Rolling Stock for London Midland and for First TransPennine Express". London Midland. 14 September 2011. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 17 September 2011.
- ^ "West Midlands Franchise: Invitation to Tender" (PDF). Department for Transport. August 2016. pp. 78–79. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 April 2017. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f "Class 350 – Angel Trains". angeltrains.co.uk. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
- ^ "Class 350/1 - London Midland". Angel Trains. Archived from the original on 13 October 2016. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
- ^ "Porterbrook Class 350/2 Technical Information". Archived from the original on 17 December 2018. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
- ^ "West Midlands Prospectus" (PDF).
- ^ a b Desiros for Loan to Southern Archived 28 September 2013 at the Wayback Machine - Southern Electric Group. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
- ^ a b c "Silverlink launches the 'Class 350'" Archived 2 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Railway Herald. Issue 15. Page 3. 15 July 2005. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
- ^ "London Midland completes £190m investment with final Siemens Desiro" (Press release). Siemens UK. 30 July 2009. Archived from the original on 6 August 2011. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
- ^ "Announcements - GOV.UK".
- ^ a b "Rail Passengers in the North of England and Scotland to benefit from new trains". First TransPennine Express. Archived from the original on 28 August 2012. Retrieved 16 March 2012.
- ^ "Electric trains boost". Wigan Today. 3 January 2014. Archived from the original on 3 January 2014.
- ^ Gibbs, Nigel (November 2017). "Vivarail 230s for new West Mids franchise as 170s to go". Today's Railways. No. 191. p. 8.
- ^ "Class 350 & 319 Fleet | London Northwestern Railway". www.londonnorthwesternrailway.co.uk. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
- ^ Porterbrook investigates battery-powered Desiros - Rail Magazine. Retrieved 2020-10-08.
- ^ Barrow, Keith (16 October 2018). "Porterbrook plans Siemens Desiro battery-electric conversion". International Railway Journal. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
- ^ Class 350 - London Midland Archived 31 July 2017 at the Wayback Machine - Porterbrook. Retrieved 2017-07-31.
- ^ a b - EMU Pocket Book 2013 from Platform 5.
- ^ Rail industry and Samaritans launch partnership Archived 17 August 2017 at the Wayback Machine rail.co.uk 10 October 2012
- ^ "Ceremony will see London Midland train officialy [sic] renamed as the Lichfield Festival". Retrieved 8 September 2020.
- ^ "Train Honour For Watford Junction Legend Vic Hall". London Northwestern Railway. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
- ^ "Train named after former England Manager". BBC News. Archived from the original on 6 June 2017. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
- ^ Ikonen, Charlotte. "Hundreds rescued after train derails at Hunton Bridge, near Watford Junction". Watford Observer. Newsquest. Archived from the original on 17 September 2016. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
- ^ "Derailment due to a landslip, and subsequent collision, Watford, 16 September 2016" (PDF). Rail Accident Investigation Branch. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 August 2017. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
- ^ "Derailed Watford Junction train makes final journey to scrapyard". Watford Observer. Archived from the original on 11 November 2016. Retrieved 10 November 2016.