British Rail Class 350
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| British Rail Class 350 "Desiro" | |
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 Class 350 at Stafford wearing the London Midland livery |
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| In service | 2004 - Current |
| Manufacturer | Siemens |
| Family name | Desiro |
| Number built | 30 trainsets, 37 under construction |
| Formation | 4 cars per trainset |
| Operator | London Midland |
| Specifications | |
| Maximum speed | 100mph (161 km/h) |
| Weight | 170 tonnes |
| Voltage | 25kV AC overhead 750V DC 3rd rail |
| Braking system | Air regenerative |
The British Rail Class 350 "Desiro" electrical multiple units were built by Siemens AG from 2004-2005. Thirty of these units were built for use by Central Trains and Silverlink on regional express services and Central Citylink services on the southern section of the West Coast Main Line. The "Desiro" family also includes units of Classes 185, 360, 444 and 450.
[edit] Description
These units were originally part of an order for thirty-two 5-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 ten 4-car Class 450 units, and the remaining 120 were modified as thirty 4-car Class 350 units. The main difference in design between Class 350 and Class 450 units is the power source. The Class 450 units operate from 750 V dc from a third rail, whilst the Class 350 units operate from both 25 kV ac from an overhead power supply, and also 750 V dc from a third-rail (although this capacity is not used in service at the present time, but has been on test both at Northampton and Southampton depots.).
[edit] Current operations
The units are currently in service on London Midland services between Northampton and London Euston, and services between Birmingham and Northampton via Coventry, a new Birmingham-Preston service (via Crewe and Wigan) and almost all Birmingham - Liverpool services having replaced Class 170 and class 323 units. Most recently Desiros have taken over some peak services between Birmingham and Walsall.
They were originally painted in an overall grey livery with blue doors and blue window surrounds with a mandatory yellow front-end warning panel required by safety rules. The original dual-use of the units on Silverlink and Central Trains services mandated a non-operator specific livery. London Midland plan to re-livery the units in their own colours.
Every set of doors has its own set of guard operated door controls behind a lockable panel, allowing the guard to check tickets on the train without having to return to a single control position to operate the doors, an important consideration on local services with frequent stops.
Driving cabs have three radio systems - Cab Secure Radio (CSR), National Radio Network (NRN) and the newest system, GSM-R. This allows a great deal of operational flexibility.
Flip Dot destination screens (Passenger Information System - PIDs) are both situated at the Driving Ends and Side of each carriage of the train. LED based PIDs are located inside the carriage. CCTV is fitted throughout the train.
The trains are managed at a new purpose built depot at Northampton, which opened in June 2006, and can also service British Rail Class 321 and other Desiro units if required. It is located at Kings Heath, near Kingsthorpe which is just North of Northampton station. The depot equipped to maintain the entire Class 350 fleet. The depot is managed by Siemens on behalf of Angel Trains.
After a much publicised period of low reliability the Class 350 for April 7 topped the MPC (Miles per casualty) charts for the first time managing just over 60,000; the only unit to run it close on operations North of London was Silverlink's own 321s, which still despite being 20 years old managed a respectable 43,000 miles per casualty.
London Midland, after winning the West Midlands franchise, announced[1] that it will purchase a further 37 Desiro units to replace the 321 units. These new units will be designated Class 350/2 and will differ from the existing units in two key aspects: they will have 3+2 seating in standard class (the existing 350s are 2+2 throughout); and will be delivered minus the dual voltage capability that the existing units have. The loss of Virgin services during the peaks for Milton Keynes commuters means that the additional capacity required from London Midland will be provided by the Class 321s until sufficient further Desiros arrive.
[edit] References
TheRailwayCentre.com Class 350/1 Specification
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