British Rail Class 315

Description

Each Class 315 unit is formed of four vehicles; DMSO-PTSO-TSO-DMSO. Up to three units can be used together in service for a maximum 12-car formation.

Each DMSO vehicle carries four DC traction motors, each of 110 hp for a total power output of 880 hp per unit. The order included an element of dual-sourcing 41 units (315801–315841) were fitted with electrical equipment from Brush Traction, while equipment for the remaining 20 units (315842–315861) was provided by the General Electric Company (GEC). The traction motors are interchangeable between equipment providers.

The DMSO vehicles also carry the air compressors and main reservoirs that provide the braking and suspension air supplies. The air supply was originally additionally used to operate the passenger doors, but this system was later replaced by an all-electric one.

The PTSO vehicles carry the main and auxiliary transformers, auxiliary batteries, the Stone Faiveley AMBR Mk.1 pantograph, and the main circuit breaker, while the TSO vehicles only provide passenger accommodation.

Seating is standard-class only and there are no toilet facilities provided onboard. As-built, each four-car unit had seats for 318 passengers, but this was reduced to 309 plus seven tip-up during a refit in 2012.

Vehicles are numbered in the following ranges:

• DMSO: 64461–64582
• PTSO: 71281–71341
• TSO: 71389–71449

Operations

Following the privatisation of British Rail, the Class 315s were divided between First Great Eastern (43 units) and West Anglia Great Northern (18 units). The leasing company Eversholt Rail Group has owned the entire Class 315 fleet since privatisation.

One / National Express

From April 2004, National Express East Anglia (NXEA) ran the inaugural Greater Anglia franchise, which combined the previous operations of both First Great Eastern and West Anglia Great Northern and thus combined the two Class 315 fleets. The franchise was initially known as 'One' but was rebranded National Express East Anglia (NXEA) in February 2008.

NXEA contracted with Bombardier to refurbish all 61 units at a cost of £60 million. This commenced in mid-2004 with the ex-First Great Eastern examples, and included the full replacement of door operating mechanisms, passenger windows, and seat covers, substantial replacement of floor coverings, and the installation of CCTV.

Greater Anglia and London Overground

The Class 315 fleet transferred to new operator Abellio Greater Anglia in February 2012. Abellio repainted the trains in its own livery and commissioned Bombardier to refresh the fleet, which included installation of a new passenger information system with electronic dot-matrix display screens, installation of bays for two wheelchairs and assistance intercoms for passengers in those areas, and accessibility changes to the handrails and inter-car gangways.

Abellio used the fleet for local services between to on the Great Eastern Main Line (the 'Shenfield Metro' service), and between Liverpool Street and , , and on the Lea Valley Lines.

They were also used on the Romford–Upminster line, alongside units, as well as occasional peak-time services to destinations further from London on the Great Eastern and West Anglia Main Lines such as , , , and .

Initially, the Shenfield Metro and Upminster branch line services used only units 315801–315843 and the Lea Valley Lines only 315844–315861, reflecting the allocations of the former franchises, but they were later operated interchangeably out of Ilford EMU Depot.

17 Class 315s were inherited by London Overground when they took over several of Greater Anglia's services on the Lea Valley and Romford–Upminster lines. They were replaced in 2020 by the Class 710.

TfL Rail / Elizabeth line

The remainder of the fleet was operated by MTR Elizabeth line, who used them for a small number of Elizabeth line services on the Great Eastern Main Line between London Liverpool Street and as a continuation of the previous TfL Rail operation.

A farewell tour for the class organised by the Branch Line Society was announced in October 2022 and took place on 26 November, with the last day of service being 9 December 2022.

Replacement

In July 2015, TfL confirmed that it would place a £260million order for 45 units of trains, which would replace London Overground's Class 315. The Aventras would be introduced on the West Anglia routes in 2018, having taken these over from Abellio Greater Anglia in May 2015. The first units on the Lea Valley lines entered service on 3 March 2020, after a first attempt on 24 February 2020. They replaced all Class 315s on both the Lea Valley lines and the Romford to Upminster branch in October 2020.

TfL Rail also displaced the Class 315s with new from August 2017 on some routes. On 20 October 2018, the first retired unit, 315850, was hauled to C F Booth of Rotherham to be scrapped. The last Elizabeth line unit in service was on 9 December 2022, after which all of the units had either been scrapped, stored or preserved.

Fleet details

Vehicle numbering

Individual vehicles are numbered in the ranges as follows:

DMSO numbers are sequential within units; thus vehicles 64461 and 64462 were in unit 315801, 64463 and 64464 in 315802, and so on.

Livery diagrams

Named units

The following units have carried names

• 315817 – Transport for London
• 315829 – London Borough of Havering Celebrating 40 years
• 315845 – Herbie Woodward
• 315857 – Stratford Connections

Preservation

On 23 July 2021, the Class 315 Preservation Society announced on their website that they had reached an agreement in principle with Eversholt Rail Group to acquire a Class 315 for preservation, and the sale was confirmed on 1 December 2022. The society had originally planned on acquiring unit 315820, but following the finalisation of the sale agreement stated that they had instead secured unit 315856.

References

References

1. (21 March 2008). "News Desk".
2. "Class 315". Eversholt Rail.
3. (22 June 2011). "System Data for Mechanical and Electrical Coupling of Rail Vehicles in support of GM/RT2190". Rail Safety and Standards Board.
4. "Vehicle Diagram Book No. 210 for Electrical Multiple Units (including A.P.T.)". BRB Residuary Ltd..
5. (November 2023). "The twilight zone".
6. (October 2022). "PEP-talk: the BR second generation EMU". Mortons Media Group.
7. (January 2023). "Class 315 farewell set saved".
8. (12 February 2013). "Class 315 Electric Multiple Unit". Eversholt Rail Group.
9. (4 February 2008). "New brand, new name, new era". National Express Group.
10. (2007). "National Express invests in upgrade of Class 315 fleet". National Express Group.
11. (15 February 2013). "First refurbished Class 315 units enter service". Abellio Greater Anglia.
12. "About us: London's newest railway". MTR Elizabeth line.
13. {{cite magazine. (August 2015). (November 2022)
14. (4 March 2020). "Bombardier Class 710/1s finally make their passenger debut on West Anglia suburban routes". Bauer Consumer Media.
15. Clinnick, Richard. (13 September 2017). "Peak-time use for Crossrail's new trains". Bauer Consumer Media.
16. Hewitt, Sam. (3 December 2018). "First Class 315 goes for scrap". Mortons Media Group.
17. (February 2023). "Class 315 Farewell raises over £13,000 for charity".
18. Russell, David. (January 2021). "Class 315". Mortons Media Group.
19. Russell, David. (November 2020). "Class 315". Mortons Media Group.
20. Russell, David. (February 2020). "Class 315". Mortons Media Group.
21. Russell, David. (September 2021). "Class 315". Mortons Media Group.
22. Russell, David. (January 2020). "Class 315". Mortons Media Group.
23. Russell, David. (June 2020). "Class 315". Mortons Media Group.
24. Russell, David. (December 2022). "Class 315". Mortons Media Group.
25. Russell, David. (January 2022). "Class 315". Mortons Media Group.
26. Russell, David. (December 2019). "Shed Talk". Mortons Media Group.
27. Russell, David. (June 2021). "Class 315". Mortons Media Group.
28. Russell, David. (February 2021). "Class 315". Mortons Media Group.
29. (December 2018). "First Class 315 goes for scrapping". Mortons Media Group.
30. Butlin, Ashley. (May 2022). "Multiplie Units". Mortons Media Group.
31. Russell, David. (March 2022). "Class 315". Mortons Media Group.
32. (February 2023). "Class 315s bow out after 42 years service". Platform 5 Publishing.
33. (March 2023). "Final Class 315s depart Ilford – after serving 52 years".
34. Russell, David. (September 2020). "Class 315".
35. (December 2020). "London Overground retires its last '315s'".
36. (1989). "British Rail Motive Power Combined Volume". Ian Allan.
37. (October 2018). "Class 315". Key Publishing.
38. (23 July 2021). "Class 315 Electric Multiple Unit Secured for Preservation!".
39. Holden, Michael. (2 December 2022). "Class 315 Preservation Society secures unit for preservation". RailAdvent.
40. (January 2023). "Class 315 saved for preservation".
41. Smith, Roger. (2 December 2022). "Class 315 EMU to be based in South Wales after donation by Eversholt Rail". RailAdvent.