British Rail Classes 170 and 171
|
Class 170/2, no. 170202 at Cambridge on 21st August 2004, whilst forming a service to Norwich. This unit has recently been repainted in the new One Railway livery. |
The
British Rail Class 170 "Turbostar" is a
diesel multiple unit (DMU) built by
Bombardier Transportation (previously
ADtranz) at their
Derby Litchurch Lane Works. This has become the most popular type of DMU built since the privatisation of Britain's railways, with more than 300 vehicles built. One factor in this is probably the fact that Turbostars, unlike all other types built since privatisation, are fully capable of working in multiple with older types from the 15X series of units, giving them much more flexability, although there are issues with so call "sandwich" formations, formed either 170-15X-170 or 15X-170-15X, which does cause problem with empty stock movements where up to 4 units of various types coupled together is common. A possible side effect of this is that Turbostars performance is also in line with the 2nd generation 15X units, infact being somewhat behind a 150 or 156 on "short hop" workings, and behind a 158 on longer distance workings unless there is enough 100mph running to take advantage of the 10mph higher speed of the 170s.
The units have been acquired for use by several franchises, each with different specifications. One of the more noticeable differences with later units compared to earlier ones, is the larger headlights now specified for safety reasons. Units are generally numbered 170xxx, where
xxx is the serial number of the unit. Individual carriages numbered 50xxx and 79xxx for driving motor cars, and 56xxx and 54xxx for centre cars.
The
Class 171 "Turbostar" operated by
Southern, is identical to the Class 170, except for the replacement of the
BSI coupler with a
Dellner coupler. This was in order to allow emergency joining with
Class 377 DC third-rail electric units.
They are closely related to the
Class 168 Clubman.
Anglia Railways / 'One' Railway
Anglia Railways ordered two batches of Turbostars. The first batch of eight 3-car
Class 170/2 units were built for
London Liverpool Street to
Ipswich,
Norwich,
Lowestoft and
Bury St. Edmunds services. These supplemented the existing
Class 86 locomotive-hauled trains from London to Norwich. Four of these units were later hired to
Hull Trains from 2002-2004, before they acquired their own Turbostars. Other units, including the spot-hire set no. 170399, were used on Anglia's short-lived
Chelmsford to
Basingstoke "Cross-City" service.
In 2002, Anglia introduced a new
Cambridge to
Norwich direct service, and acquired four 2-car units dedicated to working these services.
In 2004, the Anglia franchise was merged into the new Greater Anglia franchise, which was won by the
National Express Group who renamed the company
'One' Railway. Several units have now been reliveried into the new
One Anglia livery. Units have now been replaced on Norwich to London services by
Class 90 locomotives. This, combined with the return of the four units hired to Hull Trains, has allowed the use of 3-car Turbostars on Cambridge to Norwich trains and also new through services such as
Peterborough and
Lowestoft to
London Liverpool Street via
ColchesterThe 3-car trains used to include a buffet and first class area, but because more seating was needed, the buffet area has been replaced and there are only a few first class seats remaining.
Central Trains
Central Trains has a fleet of 53 Class 170 units from various subclasses.
From 1999, Central received its first batch of twenty-three 2-car
Class 170/5 and ten 3-car
Class 170/6 units. These were used to replace
Class 156 units on long distance services. These units all carry the vibrant
Central Trains livery of green, blue and yellow. 170505 previously wore an advertising livery for the
Birmingham Bull Ring, and 170513 previously wore an advertising livery for the
Robin Hood Line (
Nottingham-
Worksop).
From late 2004, Central also took on three
Class 170/3 spot-hire units from
Porterbrook. Units 170397 and 170398 are 3-car units, whilst 170399 is a 2-car unit. The units originally carried a white livery with purple doors (the house colours of owners
Porterbrook). All three of these units have first class accommodation, which is not provided on the
Central Trains services they work, and this is declassified. Since this, 170399 has carried a pink livery supporting
Birmingham's bid to become
European Capital of Culture for
2008 (an honour which was won by
Liverpool) and now carries an advertising livery for the
Derwent Valley Line (
Derby-
Matlock). 170397 and 170398 retain their Porterbrook livery, however Central Trains branding has been applied. 170397 and 170398 have Central Trains interiors with slightly different seats to the original fleet in standard class, but retain Midland Mainline-style First Class accommodation. 170399 retains it's South West Trains interior as it was a follow on from the SWT batch.
Also from late 2004, Central inherited 17
Class 170/1 units from sister
National Express company
Midland Mainline. Ten units (170101-110) have are 3-car units, with the remaining 7 units (170111-117) being 2-car units.All units have had their Midland Mainline branding removed, being replaced by Central Trains branding in 2005. These 17 units are affectionately referred to as "Bambi Trams".As with the 3 spot-hire units, these 17 units also have first class accommodation, which is also declassified. The 3-car units also have a buffet counter in their middle car, which is locked out of use.
Central Trains may consider removing this bar in favour of additional seating in the future.One unit, no. 170101 was involved in a collision with a tractor near
March in mid-2005. Its centre car has been reformed into unit 170117 whilst the driving car is repaired.
All Class 170 units in service with Central are used on a multitude of services, but are mostly concentrated on long distance (
CityLink) services,
Birmingham-
Stansted Airport,
Norwich-
Liverpool and
Nottingham-
Cardiff. Class 170 units have been replaced by
Class 350 "
Desiro" units on
Birmingham-
Liverpool services. They also work the majority of
Birmingham to
Leicester and
Birmingham to
Shrewsbury services, which are contained with the same daily diagram of work for the units as the CityLink routes mentioned above.
First ScotRail
ScotRail (since taken over by
First Group and renamed
First ScotRail) introduced the Turbostar in
1999 to complement its fleet of
Class 158 "Express Sprinter" DMUs. These were initially used on the
Glasgow-
Edinburgh shuttle service, but their use has since been extended to
Inverness- and
Aberdeen- bound services from the
Central Belt. At peak periods, the Class 158 units can sometimes be used in multiple with "Turbostars". In addition, several Class 170s carry the
Strathclyde Passenger Transport livery and operate suburban services in the Glasgow area.
Hull Trains
Hull Trains began its
London King's Cross to
Hull services using Turbostars, initially with four sets on short-term lease from
Anglia Railways. In 2004, it received four of its 'own' 3-car
Class 170/3 units, and returned the original units to Anglia. In 2005, following its acquisition by
First Group, Hull Trains received four new
Class 222/1 "Pioneer" unit and transferred the "Turbostars" to its sister company
First ScotRail.
Midland Mainline
Midland Mainline (MML) was the first operator to order Turbostars, with the first being introduced in MML's green and tangerine livery in 1998. MML ordered a fleet of seventeen 2-car
Class 170/1 units, although the first 10 were subsequently made-up to 3-cars. The units were introduced on new 'stopping' services from
London St. Pancras to
Leicester,
Derby and
Nottingham. Some units were also used on Summer saturday-only services from the capital to
York, which later became a year round service with summer extension to Scarborough.
In 2004, MML introduced new
Class 222 "Meridian" units, which started to replace the Turbostars. This was because the Meridians have faster acceleration than the Turbostars, and therefore would not slow down an express train travelling on the same route. They also have a higher top speed of 125mph compared to the Turbostar's 100mph top speed, although on most parts of the Midland Mainline route they are restricted to 110mph or less. The acceleration of the Turbostars was a big let down from an operational point of view, since whilst they were originally marketed as being far superior to the HSTs on semi-fast work due to "superior acceleration and braking", in practice HSTs easily outperformed Turbostars on these sort of services. The Meridiens also provided a slight capacity increase and an ambience and appearance far more fitting with an Intercity train service. The MML fleet has now been transferred to fellow
National Express Group franchise
Central Trains.
|
Class 171/8, no. 171802 on display at the York Railfest exhibition on 3rd June 2004. When photographed, this unit was brand new, and was yet to enter service for Southern. |
South Central / Southern
South Central (now renamed
Southern) acquired an initial fleet of six 2-car
Class 170/7 and six 4-car
Class 171/8 units, to replace its ageing
Class 205 and
Class 207 "Thumper" fleet. The first units were introduced in 2003 on
Ashford to
Hastings services. Later services from
Oxted to
Uckfield were also transferred to Turbostar operation. The final services from
London Bridge to
Uckfield went over to Turbostar operation in late 2004.
The Southern fleet are fitted with different coupling devices to most Turbostars, and as such as classified as
Class 171. The four-car units were built with the new couplers, but the two car units were fitted at a later date, and reclassified as
Class 171/7. Three more two-car units were later acquired, but these were built from new with the new couplers.
South West Trains
South West Trains (SWT) acquired a fleet of eight 2-car
Class 170/3 units in 2000, to supplement it existing
Class 159 fleet. Units were pressed into service on
London Waterloo to
Salisbury as well as a new
Southampton local train, and
Reading to
Basingstoke trains. They are sometimes used on
Exeter services, but as they are not fitted with end gangways for catering or
selective door opening for the short platforms at some stations, this is not a regular route. The fleet was increased with the addition of no. 170392 in 2004. From summer 2006 following the introduction of the
Class 185 Pennine (
Desiro) units with First TransPennine Express they will be complemented by SWT's nine Turbostars, with some of First TransPennine Express's
Class 158 moving south to take their place thanks to their similarity to SWT's exisiting
Class 159 units.
First TransPennine Express
First TransPennine Express will receive the 9 Turbostars from South West Trains from the Summer 2006
| Class | Operator | No. Built | Year Built | Cars per Set!Unit nos. | | Class 170/1 | Central Trains
(ex. Midland Mainline) | 17 | 1998-1999 | 3 | 170101-110 |
| 2 | 170111-117 |
| Class 170/2 | 'One' Railway
(ex-Anglia Railways) | 12 | 1999 | 3 | 170201-208 |
| 2002 | 2 | 170270-273 |
| Class 170/3 | South West Trains | 8 | 2000 | 2 | 170301-308 |
| South West Trains | 1 | 2003 | 2 | 170392 |
| First ScotRail (ex-Hull Trains) | 4 | 2004 | 3 | 170393-396 |
| Central Trains | 2 | 2002 | 3 | 170397-398 |
| Central Trains | 1 | 2002 | 2 | 170399 |
| Class 170/4 | First ScotRail | 24 | 1999-2001 | 3 | 170401-424 |
| 10 | 2003-2004 | 3 | 170425-434 |
| 12 | 2004-2005 | 3 | 170450-461 |
| 2 | 2001 | 3 | 170470-471 |
| 7 | 2004 | 3 | 170472-478 |
| Class 170/5 | Central Trains | 23 | 1999-2000 | 2 | 170501-523 |
| Class 170/6 | Central Trains | 10 | 2000 | 3 | 170630-639 |
| Class 171/7 | Southern | 9 | 2003-2004 | 2 | 171721-729 |
| Class 171/8 | Southern | 6 | 2004 | 4 | 171801-806 |
|
