British Rail Class 360

The British Rail Class 360 is an electric multiple-unit class that was built by Siemens between 2002 and 2005. Part of the Siemens Desiro family, they are currently operated by Greater Anglia and TfL Rail.

British Rail Class 360 Desiro
360202 at Southall in 2017.
Interior of a Greater Anglia Class 360/1
In service12 August 2003 – present
ManufacturerSiemens Mobility
Built atKrefeld
Family nameDesiro
ReplacedClass 312
Constructed2002 - 2005
Number built26 sets
Formation4/5 carriages
Fleet numbers360101 - 360121
360201 - 360205
Capacity16 First, 264 Standard (360/1)[1]
16 First, 324 Standard (360/2)
Operator(s)Greater Anglia
TfL Rail
Specifications
Car length20.34 m (66 ft 8 3⁄4 in)
Width2.8 m (9 ft 2 1⁄4 in)
Maximum speed100 mph (160 km/h)
Weight170 tonnes (167 long tons; 187 short tons)[1]
Power output1,550 kW (2,080 hp)[1]
Acceleration0.98 m/s2 (3.2 ft/s2)[1]
Electric system(s)25 kV 50 Hz AC Overhead
Current collection methodPantograph
Braking system(s)Air, regenerative
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge

Description

Class 360/1

First Great Eastern ordered 21 four-car Class 360/1s to replace its slam-door Class 312s. After being tested at the Wildenrath, Germany and Velim, Czech Republic test tracks, the first entered service in August 2003.[2][3] In February 2004, 360115 returned to Wildenrath for tests aimed at improving pantograph performance.[4]

They are primarily used on Great Eastern Main Line services from London Liverpool Street to Clacton-on-Sea, Colchester Town and Ipswich. They also run to Walton-on-the-Naze and the Mayflower line. They have on occasions operated through to Norwich.[5]

In April 2004, the Great Eastern franchise was merged into the Greater Anglia franchise that was awarded to National Express East Anglia. All passed with the franchise to Greater Anglia in February 2012. The Class 360s are not maintained by the franchise, but under contract by Siemens at Ilford EMU Depot.[6]

These are to be replaced by Class 720s and will move to East Midlands Railway in 2020 to operate services on the Midland Main Line from London St Pancras to Corby after its electrification and free-up Class 222 to routes where InterCity 125 operates.[7] They will have their 3+2 seating replaced with 2+2 and be modified to operate at 110 mph (180 km/h).[8] They will be based at Bedford Cauldwell Walk depot.[9]

On 7 June 2020, 360105 was the first unit to be moved to Kings Heath Depot, Northampton, from Ilford EMU Depot.[10]

Class 360/2

In June 2003 Heathrow Connect ordered four Class 360/2s for its London Paddington to Heathrow Airport stopping trains.[11][12] These were built using four trains that had been built for Angel Trains as a speculative order numbered 350001 to 350004. Only 350001 came to England, being used for training by South West Trains at Northam Carriage Servicing Depot. The others remained at the Wildenrath test track in Germany.[13][14]

The first arrived at Old Oak Common TMD in November 2004.[15] Services commenced in June 2005.[16] An extra set was ordered arriving in England in November 2005, but didn't enter service for 12 months.[17] In 2007 additional carriages were delivered to increase all sets to five carriages.[18][19] In 2010, 360205 was revinyled into Heathrow Express livery to operate its Heathrow Central to Heathrow Terminal 4 shuttle.[20]

In May 2018 TfL Rail inherited all five of Heathrow Connect's Class 360s. These are to be replaced by Class 345s once problems with the European Train Control System in the Heathrow tunnel have been resolved.[21] This is expected to occur from 2020.

Accidents and incidents

On 25 May 2014, 360205 derailed as it entered Paddington due to bogie maintenance errors, exacerbated by a track defect.[22]

Fleet details
Class Cars per Set No. Built No. Range Operator Year Built
Class 360/1 4 20 360101-360121 Greater Anglia 2002–2003
Class 360/2 5 5 360201-360205 TfL Rail 2004–2005
Greater Anglia Class 360/1
TfL Rail Class 360/2

References
  1. Desiro UK Class 360 Multiple Unit Archived 6 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine - Siemens Mobility. Page 37. Retrieved 29 September 2012.
  2. FGE Class 360 Desiro moves to Czech Republic for tests Rail issue 443 4 September 2002 page 60
  3. Desiro makes its FGE debut run Rail issue 468 20 August 2003 page 8
  4. FGE 360 Desiro returns to Germany Rail issue 483 17 March 2004 page 31
  5. NXEA to clear Class 360s to Norwich Today's Railways UK issue 105 September 2010 page 67
  6. Class 360 - National Express East Anglia - Siemens. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  7. Hitachi rumoured to have won EMR bi-mode deal Rail issue 884 31 July 2019 page 28
  8. Class 360/1s earmarked for 110mph running Rail issue 886 28 August 2019 page 10
  9. A New Era for the East Midlands as Abellio starts its fifth franchise Today's Railways UK issue 214 October 2019 page 26
  10. GB Railfreight [@GBRailfreight] (11 June 2020). "On behalf of @EastMidRailway, we supported the 1st movement of a Class 360 from Ilford to Northampton Kings Heath Depot using our specially modified Class 47s. We look forward to continuing to deliver the remaining 20 units" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  11. Heathrow Express orders Siemens Desiro EMUs for new stopping trains Rail issue 465 9 July 2003 page 10
  12. Desiros ordered for Heathrow Airport local stopping service The Railway Magazine issue 1228 August 2003 page 8
  13. Class 350s could be rebuilt Rail issue 472 15 October 2003 page 6
  14. 360s to use old bodies Rail issue 484 31 March 2004 page 24
  15. First Class 360/2 arrives Rail issue 502 8 December 2004 page 27
  16. Take off! New Heathrow Connect targets airport staff Rail issue 516 22 June 2005 page 8
  17. Final HEx 360 arrives Today's Railways UK issue 50 February 2006 page 57
  18. Fifth coaches arrive for HEx 360s Today's Railways UK issue 62 February 2007 page 62
  19. New 360/2 Vehicles Arrive Rail issue 559 14 February 2007 page 55
  20. Heathrow Express livery for Connect 360 The Railway Magazine issue 1312 August 2010 page 72
  21. Crossrail: behind schedule, over budget and under pressure International Railway Journal 8 May 2019
  22. "Derailment of an empty passenger train at Paddington station 25 May 2014" (PDF). Rail Accidents Investigation Branch. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.