British Rail Class 314
Encyclopedia
Alternating current
In alternating current the movement of electric charge periodically reverses direction. In direct current , the flow of electric charge is only in one direction....
(AC) electric multiple unit
Electric multiple unit
An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages, using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number of the carriages...
s (EMU) were built by BREL
BREL
British Rail Engineering Limited , was the railway systems engineering division of British Rail, until the design and building of trains in the UK was privatised in 1993. On 31 October 1969, the company was incorporated as British Rail Engineering Limited.-Main products:The vast majority of BREL's...
at York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
works in 1979. They were the third variety of British Rail
British Rail
British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
's then-standard 1972 design for suburban EMUs, which eventually encompassed 755 vehicles and five classes (Class 313
British Rail Class 313
British Rail Class 313 electric multiple units were built by BREL at York Works between February 1976 and April 1977 and were the first second-generation EMUs to be constructed for British Rail...
/314/315
British Rail Class 315
British Rail Class 315 alternating current electric multiple units were built by BREL at York works from 1980 to 1981. They were the fifth and final variety of British Rail's then-standard 1972 design for suburban EMUs, which eventually encompassed 755 vehicles and five Classes...
/507
British Rail Class 507
British Rail Class 507 electric multiple units were built by BREL at York works in two batches from 1978 to 1980. The first thirty sets were constructed from September 1978 to mid-1979 and a further three were added during 1980...
/508
British Rail Class 508
The British Rail Class 508 electric multiple units were built by BREL at York works in 1979-80. They were the fourth variety of BR's then-standard 1972 design for suburban EMUs, eventually encompassing 755 vehicles and five classes...
). Able to operate from 25 kV
Volt
The volt is the SI derived unit for electric potential, electric potential difference, and electromotive force. The volt is named in honor of the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta , who invented the voltaic pile, possibly the first chemical battery.- Definition :A single volt is defined as the...
overhead line only, the fleet works inner-suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
an services on the Strathclyde Passenger Transport rail network in Central Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
.
Description
Sixteen Class 314 3-car units were introduced in late 1979 to operate on the then newly opened Argyle LineArgyle Line
The Argyle Line is a suburban railway located in West Central Scotland. It connects the Lanarkshire towns of Lanark, Larkhall and Motherwell to West Dunbartonshire via central Glasgow using sub-surface running...
and were used on both this and the North Clyde Line
North Clyde Line
The North Clyde Line is a suburban railway in West Central Scotland. The route is operated by First ScotRail, on behalf of Transport Scotland...
routes until 2002, when the scrapping of the elderly Class 303
British Rail Class 303
The British Rail Class 303 electric multiple units, also known as "Blue Train" units, were introduced in 1960 for the electrification of the North Clyde and the Cathcart Circle lines in Strathclyde...
stock led to much stock cascading within the SPT network. The Class 314 was based on the experimental Class 445
British Rail Class 445
The PEP Stock were prototype electric multiple units used on British Rail's Southern Region during the early 1970s. They were forerunners of the BR Second Generation electric multiple unit fleet. Three units were built, one two-car unit , and two four-car units...
or "PEP" unit, the design of which spawned the sister Class 313
British Rail Class 313
British Rail Class 313 electric multiple units were built by BREL at York Works between February 1976 and April 1977 and were the first second-generation EMUs to be constructed for British Rail...
and Class 315
British Rail Class 315
British Rail Class 315 alternating current electric multiple units were built by BREL at York works from 1980 to 1981. They were the fifth and final variety of British Rail's then-standard 1972 design for suburban EMUs, which eventually encompassed 755 vehicles and five Classes...
units which are used extensively in the London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
commuter area.
In line with the other PEP-based classes, the Class 314 units consist of two outer motor cars with an unpowered trailer vehicle in the middle, giving a technical description of DMSO+PTSO+DMSO. The coaches are of integral aluminium alloy
Aluminium alloy
Aluminium alloys are alloys in which aluminium is the predominant metal. The typical alloying elements are copper, magnesium, manganese, silicon and zinc. There are two principal classifications, namely casting alloys and wrought alloys, both of which are further subdivided into the categories...
construction based on a steel
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
underframe. Each 3-car set can seat up to 220 people, and following the standard practice in the Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
suburban sector, peak time services can be formed by operating two units in multiple to form a 6-car train.
Current operations
Since 2002, they are mostly found working on the Cathcart Circle LinesCathcart Circle Lines
The Cathcart Circle Lines form a suburban railway route linking Glasgow to Cathcart via a circular line, with branches to Newton and Neilston. All of the routes serve Glasgow's southern suburbs, i.e. on the south bank of the River Clyde...
(including the services to Newton and Neilston). A small number of units also usually work Inverclyde Line
Inverclyde Line
The Inverclyde Line is a railway line running from Glasgow Central station through Paisley and a series of stations to the south of the River Clyde and the Firth of Clyde, terminating at Gourock and Wemyss Bay, where it connects to Caledonian MacBrayne ferry services...
services to Wemyss Bay
Wemyss Bay
Wemyss Bay is a village on the coast of the Firth of Clyde falling within the Inverclyde council area and historic county of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. The name may derive from the Gaelic uaimh, meaning 'cave'...
and Gourock
Gourock
Gourock is a town falling within the Inverclyde council area and formerly forming a burgh of the historic county of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It has in the past functioned as a seaside resort on the Firth of Clyde...
, particularly during peak hours.
The Class 314 units are now the oldest on the SPT network and were known for their unique unrefurbished interior (the leading motor coach of unit 314203 was replaced in 1992 by an ex-Class 507
British Rail Class 507
British Rail Class 507 electric multiple units were built by BREL at York works in two batches from 1978 to 1980. The first thirty sets were constructed from September 1978 to mid-1979 and a further three were added during 1980...
coach after the original was destroyed in the Newton rail crash and differs from the other units, whilst units 314208 and 314212 were severely damaged when they were "drowned" in an Argyle Line tunnel following the River Kelvin bursting its banks in torrential rain at the end of 1994).
In May 2006, a limited mechanical overhaul programme to the units was initiated, with upgraded door mechanisms and upgrades to the electrics and Automatic Warning System
Automatic Warning System
The Automatic Warning System is a form of limited cab signalling and train protection system introduced in 1956 in the United Kingdom to help train drivers observe and obey signals. It was based on a 1930 system developed by Alfred Ernest Hudd and marketed as the "Strowger-Hudd" system...
(AWS) equipment. 314202 lost its classic SPT orange/black livery (the last remaining operational multiple unit in Scotland to carry the old livery) in favour of the carmine/cream scheme when it passed through Glasgow Works at the end of November 2006. 314206 entered Glasgow Works on 20 July 2007. This was to be the final unit to receive a major overhaul, pending a decision on the future of the Class 314 units.
In 2009/2010, all Class 314s received a life extension overhaul (C5E), which will take them through to at least 2015. The work included:
- Bogie change
- Cab works
- Various other modifications
From early 2011, Class 314s are undergoing a C3 overhaul/relivery at Railcare Springburn. All 16 sets will be refurbished internally, whilst five units will receive the new ScotRail
First ScotRail
ScotRail Railways Ltd. is the FirstGroup-owned train operating company running domestic passenger trains within Scotland, northern England and the cross-border Caledonian Sleeper service to London using the brand ScotRail which is the property of the Scottish Government...
saltire livery.
- Any corrision repairs required
- Relivery (5 units only)
- Internal repaint
- Internal lino replacement on floor
- Replacement seat inserts/covers
- Full bogie/buckeye overhaul
- Further reliability upgrades
However, three of the first four units only received a C4 overhaul and internal works.
In September 2008, the Scottish Government's agency Transport Scotland
Transport Scotland
Transport Scotland was created on 1 January 2006 as the national transport agency of Scotland. It is an Executive Agency of the Scottish Government's Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning Department and accountable to Scottish Ministers...
announced that all ScotRail trains (including from the Strathclyde Partnership for Transport
Strathclyde Partnership for Transport
The Strathclyde Partnership for Transport is a public body which is responsible for planning and co-ordinating regional transport, and especially the public transport system, in the Strathclyde area of western Scotland...
) would be eventually repainted in a new, blue livery with white Saltire
Saltire
A saltire, or Saint Andrew's Cross, is a heraldic symbol in the form of a diagonal cross or letter ex . Saint Andrew is said to have been martyred on such a cross....
markings on the carriage ends. Relivery of the first unit - 314 212 - took place in Spring 2011.
Fleet details
| Class | Operator | No. Built | Year Built | Cars per Set | Unit nos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Class 314 | First ScotRail | 16 | 1979 | 3 | 314201 - 314216 |