British Rail Class 323

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British Rail Class 323
London Midland liveried 323201 stands at Birmingham New Street.
In service	1992 - present
Manufacturer	Hunslet TPL
Number built	43
Formation	Three car
Capacity	End Units 98 seats Central Unit 88 seats Total capacity 284 seats[1]
Operator	Northern London Midland
Specifications
Car length	End Units 23.37 m Central Unit 23.44 m
Width	2.80 meters (9 ft)
Height	3.78 meters (12 ft)
Maximum speed	90 mph (145 km/h)½
Weight	119.8 tonnes
Power output	1.168 MW
Voltage	25 kV AC Overhead
Braking system	Regenerative Air Brake
Gauge	Standard gauge 1435 mm (56.5 in)

Class 323, no. 323209 waiting at Birmingham New Street on 24th September 2003. This unit was operated by Central Trains (now London Midland) 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] London Midland

The former Central Trains inherited a fleet of 26 units from British Rail, comprised of sets 323201-222 and 323240-243. In November 2007, these were passed on to London Midland.

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 Soho when the elderly class 304's retired. Since the 323's moved there, a workshop has been built for maintenance and repairs.

It was intended for the units to be introduced on the newly electrified 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.

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.

During 2008 the London Midland fleet received London Midland livery. During this refurbishment the seats will be retrimmed with the new London Midland trim, new labels have been applied inside the carriages and handrails on the seats are now yellow.

These units are gradually being replaced by Class 350 "Desiro" units on services between Birmingham and Coventry by London Midland. 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 and when London Midland receive Northern Rails 323's.

[edit] Northern Rail

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Northern Rail operated 323225 at Manchester Piccadilly station. This unit is painted in obsolete First North Western livery.

At the time of the privatisation of British Rail in 1997 North Western Trains (NWT) inherited 17 of these units, North Western Trains became First North Western and its operations were taken over by Northern Rail in 2004.

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;

The fleet is maintained on behalf of Northern Rail by West Coast Traincare Limited at its Manchester Traincare Centre Longsight, which is a few miles south of Manchester Piccadilly with some units stabled at Stockport Edgeley carriage sidings where they receive overnight cleaning.

The trains were originally painted in the 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 retained FNW blue livery, awaiting Northern Rail to finalise their corporate image.

In June 2007, the Northern Class 323s began a refurbishment programme that included the introduction of over 20 reliability improvement modifications, replacement of cab desk panels and new LED lighting for the front of the trains. 323239 was the first unit to receive this upgrade and was released back into passenger traffic on 18 August 2007.

On 6 January 2008 323223 was repainted in Northern livery - the first 323 in the Northern fleet to be branded. This unit returned into service on 15 February 2008 in full livery.^[2]. 323225 has now received Northern branding, along side 323230.

As part of the Department For Transport Rolling Stock Plan, published in January 2008, Northern's fleet of 323 units will be transferred to London Midland to create a uniform fleet and allow multiple EMU operation and 24 new units will be ordered for Northern.^[3].

323235 is currently out of action after derailing at Alderley Edge on 13th September 2008 shortly after operating the 23:31 Deansgate to Alderley Edge service. It had run ECS into the up siding and was returning to Stockport for overnight stabling,when it derailed on the points, causing wheel damage to one of its bogies. It is now receiving repairs, modifications and a revised front-end and is expected to be back in service by the middle of December 2008. The unit was traveling at about 10mph when the incident occurred. Due to a shortage of electric trains at peak time after the derailment of 323235, the 16:37 Manchester Piccadilly to Alderley Edge was temporarily booked as a DMU service until 13th December. 323231 was badly damaged in a crash on Decemeber 18th. It is expected to be out for 6 months, if indeed it ever returns to traffic ever again.It suffered lots of underbody damage as well as losing its pantograph.

[edit] Fleet details

[edit] References