British Rail Class 322
Encyclopedia
The British Rail
Class 322 electric multiple unit
s were built by BREL
in 1990. Five 4-car units were built for the dedicated Stansted Express
service from London Liverpool Street to Stansted Airport. The units were then used by First ScotRail
, operating on the North Berwick Branch Line
, between / and North Berwick
. The entire class 322 fleet has since moved to Northern Rail
and is set to begin service in December 2011 for use around the Leeds area. The first units transferred in July 2011.
In the late 1980s, British Rail (BR) was extending the electrification north from London Liverpool Street towards Cambridge
. Included in this plan was the construction of new branch line, diverging from the mainline at Stansted Mountfitchet
, to serve the newly built , which opened in 1991. Therefore, BR decided to build a dedicated fleet of units to work the new Stansted Express
service.
To reduce costs, the Class 322 units were built to the same design as the successful Class 321
units, which were still under construction for services on the GEML and WCML
. Despite the Stansted route falling under the jurisdiction of Network SouthEast
(NSE), the units were delivered into service in a special white livery with a broad green band, instead of the more usual NSE blue/red/white livery.
Five 4-car units were built, numbered 322481-485. Each unit consisted of two outer driving trailers, an intermediate trailer, and an intermediate motor. The technical description of the formation of each unit is DTCO+TSO+MSO+DTSO. Individual vehicles are numbered as follows:
The units were also the last of a long line of BR multiple units to be based on the Mark 3
bodyshell design.
from December 2011, and will be used to provide additional services between Leeds, Skipton, Ilkley and Doncaster. The cascade from Scotland will also allow some of Northern’s diesel units to be transferred to the Leeds-Bradford-Manchester route.
At the beginning of October 2011, the units are at Heaton TMD
in Newcastle upon Tyne undergoing rebranding into Northern Rail livery.. Debranded units have been providing relief from October 2011, when a 321 unit is out of action.
and they were transferred north to Scotland
under their own power. They were put to work the Edinburgh
to North Berwick
service, which allowed the elderly incumbent Class 305
units to be withdrawn. One morning and one evening peak service was provided to via the relatively quiet Edinburgh-Carstairs branch of the WCML to allow the units to receive maintenance at Glasgow Shields depot as First ScotRail's
facilities in Edinburgh at Haymarket and Slateford depots are for diesel traction only.
Despite the fact their use in Scotland was originally meant to be long-term, none of the units were repainted. Instead, the Stansted Skytrain branding was replaced with ScotRail logo.
The units continued to be used on these services until mid-2004, when the hire period ended. They were transferred south in two batches, and were replaced on the North Berwick branch by EWS
Class 90
electric locomotive
s hauling former Virgin Trains
Mk.3 coaching stock
. To enable trains to reverse, the locomotive operates in push-pull
mode with a Driving Van Trailer
.
In mid-late 2005, the units were transferred back to Scotland for refurbishment prior to reintroduction on the North Berwick line, which was expected to be their permanent use. In Spring 2006, the first unit to be refurbished and repainted in the First ScotRail livery was unveiled. The class were refurbished at Hunslet-Barclay, Kilmarnock, from end of 16 July 2005 until end of 9 February 2007. 322481 was the first one repainted, and it took up the name that 485 owned when they previously operated the route. The remaining units have now been refurbished and repainted into First ScotRail livery. However, one unit, no. 322481, was named "North Berwick Flyer 1850-2000".
In 2010 with the introduction of Class 380 "Desiro"
, the North Berwick Line
had a fleet replacement and began operations in June 2011. The last service operated by a Scotrail Class 322 was the 0756 North Berwick-Edinburgh service on the 2 August 2011 and all units are now being transferred to Northern Rail
.
Following privatisation, the fleet passed into control of the West Anglia Great Northern (WAGN) franchise. In 1996, WAGN introduced a revised Stansted Express livery, which was still mainly white, but with a yellow stripe replacing the green. At the same time, services were rebranded as the Stansted Skytrain.
Units continued to be used on these services until 1997, when they became common-user with the rest of the WAGN fleet. After this, it was common for units to turn up on London King's Cross to Peterborough
services. Four of the five units were subsequently hired to North Western Trains, and two were painted in the company blue livery with gold stars. The other two units were frequently interchanged with the one remaining WAGN unit, and so were not repainted.
By 1999 the NWT units had returned to WAGN. They still did not have any specific duties to work, as dedicated rebuilt Class 317/7
units were introduced to the Stansted Airport services in 2000. The Class 322 fleet therefore remained non-standard in WAGN's fleet, so in 2001 all five units were hired to ScotRail
, who operated similar Class 320
units. The class was transferred north to Scotland
in two batches under their own power, routed via the West Coast Main Line
.
These services did not last long, and by 1999 the units had returned to WAGN. One of the two NWT blue units, no. 322485, was repainted back into Stansted Skytrain livery.
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...
Class 322 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 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...
in 1990. Five 4-car units were built for the dedicated Stansted Express
Stansted Express
Stansted Express is a sub-brand of National Express East Anglia. It is the direct train service linking central London to Stansted Airport, one of London's major air hubs...
service from London Liverpool Street to Stansted Airport. The units were then used by First 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...
, operating on the North Berwick Branch Line
North Berwick Line
The North Berwick Line is a railway line linking Edinburgh with North Berwick in Scotland. The route follows the East Coast Main Line as far as Drem where it then branches to the north....
, between / and North Berwick
North Berwick
The Royal Burgh of North Berwick is a seaside town in East Lothian, Scotland. It is situated on the south shore of the Firth of Forth, approximately 25 miles east of Edinburgh. North Berwick became a fashionable holiday resort in the 19th century because of its two sandy bays, the East Bay and the...
. The entire class 322 fleet has since moved to Northern Rail
Northern Rail
Northern Rail is a British train operating company that has operated local passenger services in Northern England since 2004. Northern Rail's owner, Serco-Abellio, is a consortium formed of Abellio and Serco, an international operator of public transport systems...
and is set to begin service in December 2011 for use around the Leeds area. The first units transferred in July 2011.
Description
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
. Included in this plan was the construction of new branch line, diverging from the mainline at Stansted Mountfitchet
Stansted Mountfitchet
Stansted Mountfitchet is a village and civil parish in the county of Essex, England, near the Hertfordshire border, north of London. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 5,533. The village is served by Stansted Mountfitchet railway station....
, to serve the newly built , which opened in 1991. Therefore, BR decided to build a dedicated fleet of units to work the new Stansted Express
Stansted Express
Stansted Express is a sub-brand of National Express East Anglia. It is the direct train service linking central London to Stansted Airport, one of London's major air hubs...
service.
To reduce costs, the Class 322 units were built to the same design as the successful Class 321
British Rail Class 321
The British Rail Class 321 alternating current electric multiple units were built by BREL York in three batches from 1988-91. The design was successful and led to the development of the similar Class 320 and Class 322 units for use by Strathclyde PTE and Stansted Express respectively...
units, which were still under construction for services on the GEML and WCML
West Coast Main Line
The West Coast Main Line is the busiest mixed-traffic railway route in Britain, being the country's most important rail backbone in terms of population served. Fast, long-distance inter-city passenger services are provided between London, the West Midlands, the North West, North Wales and the...
. Despite the Stansted route falling under the jurisdiction of Network SouthEast
Network SouthEast
Network SouthEast was one of three passenger sectors of British Rail created in 1982. NSE principally operated commuter trains in the London area and inter-urban services in densely populated South East England, although the network reached as far west as Exeter...
(NSE), the units were delivered into service in a special white livery with a broad green band, instead of the more usual NSE blue/red/white livery.
Five 4-car units were built, numbered 322481-485. Each unit consisted of two outer driving trailers, an intermediate trailer, and an intermediate motor. The technical description of the formation of each unit is DTCO+TSO+MSO+DTSO. Individual vehicles are numbered as follows:
- 78163-78167 - DTCO
- 72023-72027 - TSO
- 63137-63141 - MSO
- 77985-77989 - DTSO
The units were also the last of a long line of BR multiple units to be based on the Mark 3
British Rail Mark 3
British Rail's third design of standard carriage was designated 'Mark 3' , and was developed primarily for the InterCity 125 High Speed Train...
bodyshell design.
Northern Rail
The Class 322s are due to come into service with Northern RailNorthern Rail
Northern Rail is a British train operating company that has operated local passenger services in Northern England since 2004. Northern Rail's owner, Serco-Abellio, is a consortium formed of Abellio and Serco, an international operator of public transport systems...
from December 2011, and will be used to provide additional services between Leeds, Skipton, Ilkley and Doncaster. The cascade from Scotland will also allow some of Northern’s diesel units to be transferred to the Leeds-Bradford-Manchester route.
At the beginning of October 2011, the units are at Heaton TMD
Heaton TMD
Heaton TMD is a railway Traction Maintenance Depot situated in the Heaton area of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is located next to the East Coast Main Line, around east of Newcastle railway station. The depot is operated by Northern Rail, and mostly houses stock operated by them and Grand Central...
in Newcastle upon Tyne undergoing rebranding into Northern Rail livery.. Debranded units have been providing relief from October 2011, when a 321 unit is out of action.
First ScotRail
In 2001, having been made redundant on WAGN services, the entire fleet was hired to ScotRailScotRail
ScotRail was a brand name used for all Scottish regional and commuter rail services, including some cross-border services, from 1997 to 2004....
and they were transferred north to 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...
under their own power. They were put to work the Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
to North Berwick
North Berwick
The Royal Burgh of North Berwick is a seaside town in East Lothian, Scotland. It is situated on the south shore of the Firth of Forth, approximately 25 miles east of Edinburgh. North Berwick became a fashionable holiday resort in the 19th century because of its two sandy bays, the East Bay and the...
service, which allowed the elderly incumbent Class 305
British Rail Class 305
The British Rail Class 305 was an alternating current electric multiple unit . Under the pre-1973 British Rail numbering system, the class was known as AM5...
units to be withdrawn. One morning and one evening peak service was provided to via the relatively quiet Edinburgh-Carstairs branch of the WCML to allow the units to receive maintenance at Glasgow Shields depot as First ScotRail's
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...
facilities in Edinburgh at Haymarket and Slateford depots are for diesel traction only.
Despite the fact their use in Scotland was originally meant to be long-term, none of the units were repainted. Instead, the Stansted Skytrain branding was replaced with ScotRail logo.
The units continued to be used on these services until mid-2004, when the hire period ended. They were transferred south in two batches, and were replaced on the North Berwick branch by EWS
EWS
DB Schenker Rail , before 2009 known as English, Welsh and Scottish Railway is a British rail freight company. EWS was established by a consortium led by Wisconsin Central Transportation Corporation in 1996 by acquisition of five of the six freight companies created by the privatisation of British...
Class 90
British Rail Class 90
The British Rail Class 90 electric locomotives were built by BREL at Crewe from 1987-1990. Each locomotive weighs 84.5 tonnes and has a top speed of . They operate from 25 kV AC overhead wires and produce...
electric locomotive
Electric locomotive
An electric locomotive is a locomotive powered by electricity from overhead lines, a third rail or an on-board energy storage device...
s hauling former Virgin Trains
Virgin Trains
Virgin Trains is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. It operates long-distance passenger services on the West Coast Main Line between London, the West Midlands, North West England, North Wales and Scotland...
Mk.3 coaching stock
British Rail Mark 3
British Rail's third design of standard carriage was designated 'Mark 3' , and was developed primarily for the InterCity 125 High Speed Train...
. To enable trains to reverse, the locomotive operates in push-pull
Push-pull train
Push–pull is a mode of operation for locomotive-hauled trains allowing them to be driven from either end.A push–pull train has a locomotive at one end of the train, connected via some form of remote control, such as multiple-unit train control, to a vehicle equipped with a control cab at the other...
mode with a Driving Van Trailer
Driving Van Trailer
A Driving Van Trailer is a purpose-built railway vehicle that allows the driver to operate a locomotive at the opposite end of a train. Trains operating with a DVT therefore do not require the locomotive to be moved around to the other end of the train at terminal stations...
.
In mid-late 2005, the units were transferred back to Scotland for refurbishment prior to reintroduction on the North Berwick line, which was expected to be their permanent use. In Spring 2006, the first unit to be refurbished and repainted in the First ScotRail livery was unveiled. The class were refurbished at Hunslet-Barclay, Kilmarnock, from end of 16 July 2005 until end of 9 February 2007. 322481 was the first one repainted, and it took up the name that 485 owned when they previously operated the route. The remaining units have now been refurbished and repainted into First ScotRail livery. However, one unit, no. 322481, was named "North Berwick Flyer 1850-2000".
In 2010 with the introduction of Class 380 "Desiro"
British Rail Class 380
Class 380 is the designation given to a class of electric multiple unit trains which operate on the national railway network in Scotland.- Description :...
, the North Berwick Line
North Berwick Line
The North Berwick Line is a railway line linking Edinburgh with North Berwick in Scotland. The route follows the East Coast Main Line as far as Drem where it then branches to the north....
had a fleet replacement and began operations in June 2011. The last service operated by a Scotrail Class 322 was the 0756 North Berwick-Edinburgh service on the 2 August 2011 and all units are now being transferred to Northern Rail
Northern Rail
Northern Rail is a British train operating company that has operated local passenger services in Northern England since 2004. Northern Rail's owner, Serco-Abellio, is a consortium formed of Abellio and Serco, an international operator of public transport systems...
.
West Anglia Great Northern
Units continued to be used on these services until 1997, when they became common-user with the rest of the WAGN fleet. After this, it was common for units to turn up on London King's Cross to Peterborough
Peterborough
Peterborough is a cathedral city and unitary authority area in the East of England, with an estimated population of in June 2007. For ceremonial purposes it is in the county of Cambridgeshire. Situated north of London, the city stands on the River Nene which flows into the North Sea...
services. Four of the five units were subsequently hired to North Western Trains, and two were painted in the company blue livery with gold stars. The other two units were frequently interchanged with the one remaining WAGN unit, and so were not repainted.
By 1999 the NWT units had returned to WAGN. They still did not have any specific duties to work, as dedicated rebuilt Class 317/7
British Rail Class 317
The British Rail Class 317 alternating current electric multiple units were built by BREL York in two batches, from 1981-82 and 1985-87. They were the first of several classes of British Rail EMU to be based on the all-steel Mark 3 bodyshell, departing from the "PEP"-aluminium design which had...
units were introduced to the Stansted Airport services in 2000. The Class 322 fleet therefore remained non-standard in WAGN's fleet, so in 2001 all five units were hired to ScotRail
ScotRail
ScotRail was a brand name used for all Scottish regional and commuter rail services, including some cross-border services, from 1997 to 2004....
, who operated similar Class 320
British Rail Class 320
The British Rail Class 320 is an alternating current electric multiple unit train found on the Strathclyde Partnership for Transport rail network in Central Scotland, and is used exclusively on the North Clyde Line between Helensburgh and Airdrie, North Lanarkshire via Glasgow Queen Street...
units. The class was transferred north to 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...
in two batches under their own power, routed via the West Coast Main Line
West Coast Main Line
The West Coast Main Line is the busiest mixed-traffic railway route in Britain, being the country's most important rail backbone in terms of population served. Fast, long-distance inter-city passenger services are provided between London, the West Midlands, the North West, North Wales and the...
.
North Western Trains
In the period 1997 to 1999, North Western Trains (NWT) hired four units from WAGN for a new Manchester Airport to London Euston service. Two of the units, nos. 322484 and 322485, were repainted into NWT's blue and gold livery, whilst the other two unspecified units remained in the revised Stansted Skytrain livery.These services did not last long, and by 1999 the units had returned to WAGN. One of the two NWT blue units, no. 322485, was repainted back into Stansted Skytrain livery.
Fleet details
| Unit Number | Current Livery | Vehicle Numbers | Current Operator | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DTCO | TSO | MSO | DTSO | |||
| 322481 | de-branded First ScotRail | 78163 | 72023 | 63137 | 77985 | Off lease as of August 2011. (Northern Rail operational in December 2011.) |
| 322482 | de-branded First ScotRail | 78164 | 72024 | 63138 | 77986 | |
| 322483 | de-branded First ScotRail | 78165 | 72025 | 63139 | 77987 | |
| 322484 | de-branded First ScotRail | 78166 | 72026 | 63140 | 77988 | |
| 322485 | de-branded First ScotRail | 78167 | 72027 | 63141 | 77989 | |