British Rail Class 323

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323242 departs Longbridge 1 September 2005

Class 323, no. 323209 waiting at Birmingham New Street on 24th September 2003. This unit is operated by Central Trains and is painted in Centro livery.

The British Rail Class 323 electric multiple units were built by Hunslet TPL from 1992-93. Forty-three 3-car units were built for inner-suburban services around Birmingham and Manchester. These trains were the last vehicles to be built by the struggling manufacturer Hunslet before it collapsed.

[edit] Description

In the early 1990s the Regional Railways sector of British Rail placed an order for new EMUs to both replace older units and to work services on the newly electrified Birmingham Cross-City line. The contract was awarded to Hunslet TPL in Leeds, who at the time were in financial difficulties due to lack of orders. It was hoped that the building of the Class 323 units would turn the fortunes of the company around. However, this was not to be the case, and these units proved to be the last trains built by the company. The trains were also some of the last constructed before the infamous 1,064 day gap in train orders.

Forty-three 3-car units were built, numbered in the range 323201-243. Each unit is formed of two outer driving motor vehicles, and a central intermediate trailer with a pantograph for collecting the overhead current of 25kV ac. The technical description of the unit formation is DMSO+PTSO+DMSO. Individual vehicles are numbered as follows:

• 64001-64043 - DMSO
• 72201-72239 and 72340-72343 - PTSO
• 65001-65043 - DMSO

In general, the last two digits of the vehicle number correspond to the last two digits of the set number, such that unit 323227 is formed of 64027+72227+65027. The last four PTSO vehicles are numbered in a separate range to avoid clashing with Class 365 vehicles.

[edit] Current operations

[edit] Central Trains

Central Trains inherited a fleet of 26 units, comprised of sets 323201-222 and 323240-243. The units were delivered in 1993/94 painted in Centro green and white livery with a blue stripe. They were originally allocated to Bletchley Depot, but have since been reallocated to a new depot built in Soho.

It was intended for the units to be introduced on the newly electrified Birmingham Cross-City Line from Redditch to Lichfield (via Birmingham New Street). However, all did not go according to plan, and initially the units suffered from reliability problems. This meant that the ageing fleets of Class 115, 116, 117, 118 and 119 diesel multiple units, which the Class 323 units were meant to replace, continued in service longer than planned. They were finally withdrawn in 1995 once the Class 323 units had become more reliable.

A 323 at Tile Hill station in Coventry on the Coventry-Wolverhampton service

The units were also used on various other routes, including Coventry to Wolverhampton, and Birmingham to Walsall (Chase Line) suburban services, as well as longer distance Birmingham to Liverpool Lime Street services. On these services, they were used alongside the existing fleets of Class 310/1 and Class 312 slam-door units. The introduction of the new trains also allowed the withdrawal of the elderly Class 304 units, and the cascading of Class 308 units to operate suburban services around Leeds.

Since being introduced, the units have recently undergone works attention, which included the fitting of CCTV surveillance equipment. The Centro livery has also been modified, with the addition of yellow doors to aid the visually impaired.

These units are gradually being replaced by Class 350 "Desiro" units on services between Birmingham and Coventry. Eventually, they will all be operated in 6-car formations on Lichfield-Redditch (Cross-City) services when former Silverlink Class 321/4 units take over Birmingham-Wolverhampton local services.

[edit] Northern Rail

North Western Trains (NWT) inherited 17 of these units. They were used to replace older stock of Classes 304 and 305, although some of the latter were retained in reserve until 2000. The units are used on services on the Manchester electrified network, which is primarily to the south of the city. Services include;

• Manchester Piccadilly - Glossop/Hadfield
• Manchester - Crewe (Via Stockport)
• Manchester Picadilly - Wilmslow (via Manchester Airport)
• Manchester Piccadilly - Alderley Edge (class 323 operated Monday to Saturday only, DMU service on sunday)
• Manchester Piccadilly - Hazel Grove
• Manchester - Macclesfield/Stoke-on-Trent
• Manchester Piccadilly - Manchester Airport (only operates on Sundays)

The fleet is maintained at Longsight Depot, which is a few miles south of Manchester Piccadilly.

Units are stabled at Stockport Edgeley carriage sidings

The trains were originally painted in the smart Greater Manchester PTE livery. Two units, nos. 323224 and 323233 were painted into NWT dark blue livery with gold stars. The franchise was later acquired by First Group and renamed First North Western (FNW). In the period 2003-2004, the entire fleet was refurbished, which included a repaint into FNW blue and magenta "Barbie" livery.

In December 2004, the Arriva Trains Northern and First North Western franchises were combined into a new Northern Rail franchise. Northern Rail is operated by Serco-Ned Railways (A joint partnership between UK company Serco Group and Ned Railways). The Class 323 units currently retained FNW blue lively, awaiting Northern Rail to finalise their corporate image.

[edit] Fleet details

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British Rail Class 323