British Rail Class 332 | |
---|---|
In service | 19 January 1998 – 28 December 2020 |
Manufacturer | CAF |
Built at | Zaragoza, Spain |
Constructed |
|
Refurbished | 2012–2013 [1] |
Scrapped | 2020–2021 |
Number built | 14 |
Number preserved |
|
Number scrapped | 13 |
Successor | Class 387 |
Formation | |
Fleet numbers | 332001–332014 |
Capacity |
|
Owners | Heathrow Airport Holdings |
Operators | Heathrow Express |
Depots | Old Oak Common (London) |
Specifications | |
Car body construction | Steel |
Car length |
|
Width | 2.73 m (8 ft 11 in) |
Height | 3.77 m (12 ft 4 in) |
Maximum speed | 109 mph (176 km/h) |
Weight |
|
Traction system | Siemens IGBT-C/I [2] E500 D600/860 M5 rdq-1 [2] |
Traction motors | 4×Siemens 1TB2215-0JA03 [3] 350 kW asychronous motors (with ZF-Hurth gearboxes) |
Power output | 1,400 kW (1,900 hp) [4] |
Acceleration | 1 m/s2 (2.2 mph/s) [4] |
Electric system(s) | 25 kV 50 Hz AC overhead |
Current collector(s) | Pantograph |
Safety system(s) | |
Coupling system | Scharfenberg Type 10 [5] |
Multiple working | Within class |
Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge |
The British Rail Class 332 was a type of electric multiple unit passenger train built between 1997 and 1998 by CAF, with traction equipment supplied by Siemens Transportation Systems. Fourteen units were built for dedicated use on Heathrow Express services between London Paddington and Heathrow Airport.
Following BAA being granted rights to operate services from London Paddington to Heathrow Airport, 14 trains were ordered in July 1994 from Siemens Transportation Systems. [6] [7] [8] They were built by CAF in Zaragoza, Spain. The first two were tested at the Velim railway test circuit and in Germany, while the next two were sent directly to England arriving at Old Oak Common TMD in March 1997. [9] [10] [11]
The units had automatic train protection (ATP), [12] one of the few fleets in the UK to do so. This was largely as a consequence of the Paddington-Heathrow route being mainly on the Great Western Main Line, which was equipped with ATP in the early 1990s as part of a trial of the system by British Rail. [13] The units were not fitted with Train Protection & Warning System (TPWS). A derogation was issued in 2001, which exempted the class from mandatory TPWS installation, due to the fitment of the ATP. [13] Given the lack of TPWS, the trains were not compatible for use elsewhere on the rail network. [14]
The units were maintained at a purpose-built depot at Old Oak Common. [15] Following withdrawal of the units, the depot was demolished as part of the construction of High Speed 2 and Old Oak Common station. [16]
The Class first entered service on 19 January 1998 when services commenced from London Paddington to Heathrow Junction. [17] [18] They operated through to Terminal 4 from May 1998 until March 2008, when the Heathrow Express was diverted to serve Terminal 5. [19]
The original order was for twelve three-car and two four-car sets. [20] The twelve three-carriage sets were increased to four-car sets by the end of 1998. [16] In 2002, five sets had a fifth car added. [21] [22] [23]
On 29 February 2016, the entire class was withdrawn after a structural defect was found on the underside of a driving car of unit number 332014. [24] They were replaced by Heathrow Connect Class 360s. [25] The Class 332 trains were gradually returned to service from 11 March 2016 onwards. [26]
In March 2018, Heathrow Airport Holdings announced that operation of the Heathrow Express was to be contracted to Great Western Railway. [27] [28] [29] However, in September 2019, Heathrow Express announced that Heathrow Airport Holdings were to continue owning Heathrow Express until at least 2028 and that instead, GWR would manage the introduction of the Class 387 to replace the Class 332. [30]
The first unit, 332014 was sent to be scrapped in November 2020 at Sims Metal, Peterborough. [31] The last day in service for the remaining Class 332 units was 28 December 2020. [32] [16] Apart from three carriages from 332001 that were retained by Siemens, the remaining sets were scrapped by Sims Metal, Newport in the first quarter of 2021. [33]
Three cars from 332001 (63400, 72412 and 78400) are now based at Siemens Goole for private use. [34]
Class | Status | No. Built | Year Built | Cars per Set | Unit nos. | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
332 | Scrapped | 14 | 1997–98 | 4 | 332001–004 332010–014 | 3 cars from 332001 (63400, 72412 and 78400) are at Siemens Goole to be used to educate schoolchildren on visits and also host some training for apprentices at the factory. |
5 | 332005–009 |
Paddington, also known as London Paddington, is a London railway station and London Underground station complex, located on Praed Street in the Paddington area. The site has been the London terminus of services provided by the Great Western Railway and its successors since 1838. Much of the main line station dates from 1854 and was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel. As of the 2022–23 Office of Rail & Road Statistics, it is the second busiest station in the United Kingdom, after London Liverpool Street, with 59.2 million entries and exits.
Heathrow Express is a high-frequency airport rail link operating between London Heathrow Airport and London Paddington. Opened in 1998, trains run non-stop, with a journey time of 15 minutes. The service is operated jointly by Great Western Railway and Heathrow Express Operating Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Heathrow Airport Holdings. Around 16,000 passengers use the service each day.
The Siemens Desiro is a family of diesel or electric multiple unit passenger trains developed by Siemens Mobility, a division of the German Siemens AG conglomerate. The main variants are the Desiro Classic, Desiro ML, Desiro UK and the later Desiro City, Desiro HC and Desiro RUS. The trains are mostly used for commuter and regional services, and their rapid acceleration makes them suitable for services with short distances between stations. The design is flexible, and has become common in many European countries.
The Great Western Main Line (GWML) is a main line railway in England that runs westwards from London Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads. It connects to other main lines such as those from Reading to Penzance and Swindon to Swansea. The GWML is presently a part of the national rail system managed by Network Rail while the majority of passenger services upon it are provided by the current Great Western Railway franchise.
First Greater Western, trading as Great Western Railway (GWR), is a British train operating company owned by FirstGroup that provides services in the Greater Western franchise area. It manages 197 stations and its trains call at over 270. GWR operates long-distance inter-city services along the Great Western Main Line to and from the West of England and South Wales, inter-city services from London to the West Country via the Reading–Taunton line, and the Night Riviera sleeper service between London and Penzance. It provides outer-suburban services in West London; commuter services from its London terminus at London Paddington to the Thames Valley region, including parts of Berkshire and Buckinghamshire, and Oxfordshire; and regional services throughout the West of England and South Wales to the South coast of England. Great Western Railway also operates the Heathrow Express service.
The British Rail Class 360 is an electric multiple unit class that was built by Siemens Mobility on its Desiro platform between 2002 and 2005 for First Great Eastern and Heathrow Connect. The remaining members of the class are operated by East Midlands Railway.
Reading railway station is a major transport hub in the town of Reading in Berkshire, England, it is 36 miles (58 km) west of London Paddington. It is sited on the northern edge of the town centre, near to the main retail and commercial areas and the River Thames. It is the busiest station in Berkshire, and the third busiest in South East England.
The British Rail Class 333 is a class of electric multiple unit (EMU) passenger train built by CAF between 2000 and 2003 for Northern Spirit, with traction equipment supplied by Siemens Transportation Systems. All have passed to subsequent franchises and subsequent operators Northern Rail, Arriva Rail North and Northern Trains.
Heathrow Connect was a train service in London provided jointly by Heathrow Express and Great Western Railway (GWR), between Paddington station and Heathrow Airport. The service followed the same route as the non-stop Heathrow Express service but called at certain intermediate stations, connecting several locations in West London with each other, the airport, and Central London. It ran every half-hour throughout the day and evening. The service was launched on 12 June 2005 and ceased on 19 May 2018, when it was absorbed into the TfL Rail concession, in advance of becoming part of the Elizabeth line once it opened on 24 May 2022.
The Bombardier Electrostar is a family of electric multiple-unit (EMU) passenger trains manufactured by Bombardier Transportation at their Derby Litchurch Lane Works in England between 1999 and 2017. It has become the most common new EMU type in the United Kingdom since the privatisation of British Rail with a number of variants. Electrostar trains are most common on high-volume suburban commuter routes around London; and on mainline services from London south to Surrey and the south coast, east to Essex, and north to Cambridge and Stansted Airport.
Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles is a Spanish publicly listed company which manufactures railway vehicles and equipment and buses through its Solaris Bus & Coach subsidiary. It is based in Beasain, Basque Autonomous Community, Spain. Equipment manufactured by Grupo CAF includes light rail vehicles, rapid transit trains, railroad cars and locomotives, as well as variable gauge axles that can be fitted on any existing truck or bogie.
Old Oak Common TMD was a traction maintenance depot located west of London Paddington, in Old Oak Common. The depot codes were OC for the diesel depot and OO for the carriage shed. In steam days the shed code was 81A.
Heathrow Junction was a short-lived railway station built to serve London Heathrow Airport in the United Kingdom.
The Networker is a family of multiple-unit passenger trains which operate on the British railway system. They were built in the late 1980s and early 1990s by British Rail Engineering Limited and Metro Cammell. The trains were built for the Network SouthEast (NSE) sector of British Rail, which is where their name comes from.
The British Rail Class 800, branded as the Intercity Express Train (IET) by Great Western Railway (GWR) and Azuma by London North Eastern Railway (LNER) is a type of bi-mode multiple unit train built by Hitachi Rail for GWR and LNER. The type uses electric motors powered from overhead electric wires for traction, but also has diesel generators to enable trains to operate on unelectrified track. It is a part of the Hitachi AT300 product family.
The British Rail Class 387 Electrostar is a type of electric multiple unit passenger train built by Bombardier Transportation. They are part of the Electrostar family of trains. A total of 107 units were built, with the first train entering service with Thameslink in December 2014. The trains are currently in service with Gatwick Express, Great Northern, Great Western Railway, Heathrow Express and Southern. The Class 387 is a variation of the Class 379 with dual-voltage capability which allows units to run on 750 V DC third rail, as well as use 25 kV AC OLE. The class were the final rolling stock orders from the Bombardier Electrostar family with 2,805 vehicles built over 18 years between 1999 and 2017.
TfL Rail was the concession which operated commuter services on two separate railway lines in London, England and its environs whilst the Crossrail construction project linking these lines was underway. It ran from 2015 until May 2022, upon the opening of the Crossrail central section, when TfL Rail was rebranded as Elizabeth line and the name was discontinued.
The British Rail Class 802 is a type of high-speed bi-mode multiple-unit passenger train designed and produced by the Japanese manufacturer Hitachi Rail. It has been operated by Great Western Railway, TransPennine Express, and Hull Trains; each of these train operating companies has given its own units a unique brand: Great Western Railway's units are branded Intercity Express Trains (IETs), TransPennine Express units are branded Nova 1s and Hull Trains' units are branded Paragons.
The Elizabeth line is a high-frequency hybrid urban–suburban rail service in London and its suburbs. It runs services on dedicated infrastructure in central London from the Great Western Main Line west of Paddington station to Abbey Wood and via Whitechapel to the Great Eastern Main Line near Stratford; along the Great Western Main Line to Reading and Heathrow Airport in the west; and along the Great Eastern Main Line to Shenfield in the east. The service is named after Queen Elizabeth II, who officially opened the line on 17 May 2022 during her Platinum Jubilee year; passenger services started on 24 May 2022. Elizabeth line services are operated by MTR Elizabeth line under a concession from Transport for London (TfL). Despite being named under the same system as London Underground lines, and having sections which are underground, the Elizabeth line is not classified as a London Underground line.
The British Rail Class 717 Desiro City is an electric multiple unit passenger train built by Siemens Mobility, currently operated by Govia Thameslink Railway on its Great Northern Hertford Loop and Welwyn stopping routes. Built to replace Class 313 trains on services into Moorgate, a total of 25 six-car units began entering regular service from March 2019. The units are similar to the Class 700s and the Class 707s.