British Rail Class 310
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The British Rail Class 310 is a of slam-door electric multiple unit introduced in 1966 as part of the West Coast Main Line electrification project. They consisted of four carriages - a second class only driving trailer, a second class only trailer, a second class only motor car (with guard's/luggage compartment above which the pantograph was mounded) and a composite (1st and 2nd class) driving trailer. The maximum speed was 75 miles per hour.
Initially they were primarily used on local services from London Euston (to Bletchley, Milton Keynes, Northampton and Birmingham) and within the West Midlands. They were also the first EMU's to be based on the Mark 2 bodyshell, which featured semi-integral construction.
The bulk of the fleet was replaced on the Euston commuter routes by Class 321 units which began entering service in the late 1980s, and operate the Euston - Northampton/Milton Keynes routes to the present day as part of the Silverlink franchise.
All Class 310 units that survived into the 21st century were withdrawn between 2001 and 2004.
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[edit] Sub-classes
310/0- Four car units. All 310s were originally 310/0s.
310/1- three car units modified for use in the Midlands.
[edit] Privatisation
All 310/0 units came under the control of LTS Rail (now c2c). They were replaced by Class 357 units.
The thirteen 310/1 units came under the control of Central Trains. All were withdrawn by 2002, replaced by a mixture of Class 170 and Class 323 units.
[edit] Departemental Usage
Two class 310/1 units, numbers 310109 and 310113 were used to create a single departemental unit, 960201. This four-car unit also includes a 3rd rail vehicle. It is used by Hitachi and is the only 310 left in service.
[edit] Preservation
There is some talk of seeing a Class 310 preserved, but due to asbestos, at best this would be a stripped carriage.
