British Rail Class 315

British Rail Class 315
Class 315 No. 315858, rebranded with the National Express East Anglia stripe in the 'One' Railway livery at Romford
The refurbished interior of a Class 315
In service	1980 - Current
Manufacturer	BREL York
Family name	BREL 1972 "PEP"
Constructed	1980 - 1981
Refurbishment	All 61 National Express East Anglia sets 2004 - 2008[1] Bombardier Derby
Number built	61 trainsets
Formation	4 cars per trainset
Fleet numbers	315801 - 315861
Capacity	318 seats
Operator	National Express East Anglia
Specifications
Car length	19.80 m (65 ft 0 in)
Width	3.58 m (11 ft 9 in)
Height	2.82 m (9 ft 3 in)
Maximum speed	75 mph (121 km/h)
Weight	127.5 tonnes (125.5 long tons; 140.5 short tons)
Power output	656 kW (880 hp)
Electric system(s)	25 kV AC Overhead
Gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) Standard gauge

British Rail Class 315 alternating current (AC) electric multiple units (EMU) 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 (Class 313/314/315/507/508). Like the Glasgow-based Class 314 units, they are only able to operate from the 25 kV overhead line. The fleet works inner-suburban services on the Great Eastern Main Line run by the train operating company National Express East Anglia out of London Liverpool Street.

Description

Each Class 315 unit is formed of four vehicles: Driving Motor Standard Open (DMSO), Pantograph Trailer Standard Open (PTSO), Trailer Standard Open (TSO), and Driving Motor Standard Open (DMSO). Each DMSO carries four traction motors (315801-841 originally had Brush TM61-53 and 315842-861 had GEC G310AZ but these motors are interchangeable and nowadays any type can be found on any unit) rated at 110hp each and a main compressor and air reservoir which carries air for the brakes and suspension. The door system which was pneumatic has been replaced by an all electric door system. The PTSO carries the main and auxillery transformers, batteries and battery charger, Stone Faiveley AMBR Mk.1 pantograph, vacuum circuit breaker and auxiliary compressor. The TSO carries no equipment other than that which is standard to all coaches.

The coaches only contain standard seating and have no toilet facilities. Car numbering is as follows:

• 64461-64582 - DMSO
• 71281-71341 - PTSO
• 71389-71449 - TSO

Each 4-car set is able to seat 318 passengers.

A refurbishment programme commenced from mid 2004, when National Express East Anglia (then 'one' Railway) contracted Bombardier to carry out the refurbishment of all 61 units, starting with the ex-First Great Eastern examples. The low-back 3+2 seating is retained, so the capacity stays the same.^[2]

The Class 315 units replaced the life-expired Class 306 units.

Current operations

Operators

Until 1 April 2004, the fleet was divided between the train operating companies First Great Eastern (43 units) and WAGN (18 units). On that date, 'one' was awarded the new Greater Anglia rail franchise which combined the First Great Eastern and WAGN routes, and so assumed control of all 61 sets. 'one' has since been rebranded National Express East Anglia (NXEA) by its parent company, National Express Group.

Services

The usual duties include:

• London Liverpool Street - Shenfield 'Metro'
• Romford - Upminster

The Lea Valley Lines

• London Liverpool Street - Enfield Town
• London Liverpool Street - Chingford
• London Liverpool Street - Cheshunt

They can occasionally be found further afield, running to Hertford East, Bishop's Stortford, Stansted Airport, Broxbourne, Cambridge, Ely, Southminster, Braintree, Clacton-on-Sea, Colchester, Harwich Town, Walton-on-the-Naze, Ipswich and Southend Victoria, particularly at the peak times.

Class 315s are rumoured to be replaced after the London Olympic Games at Stratford in 2012, as by then they will nearly be life expired (around 2014).^{[citation needed]}

Initially, the Shenfield Metro and Upminster Branch Line services used only sets 315801-843 and the Lea Valley Lines only 315844-861. Presently, however, all 61 sets are used interchangeably.

Since "one" and then National Express have been operating the franchise, it has been less common for 315s to run beyond Shenfield. At present, there are only 3 booked workings beyond Shenfield on Mondays to Fridays. These are:

• The 06:29 Southend Victoria to London Liverpool Street (arrives 07:29), calling at all stations to Shenfield, then Stratford and Liverpool Street.
• The 07:21 Southend Victoria to London Liverpool Street (arrives 08:40), calling at all stations to Ilford, then Stratford and Liverpool Street.

The 17:49 Liverpool Street to Southend Victoria, calling at Stratford, Manor Park, then all stations to Southend Victoria

Apart from these two workings, 315s are rarely used on services on the Great Eastern Main Line, however can be seen working these routes on occasions, covering for unavailable Class 360s or Class 321s.

Naming

Five Class 315 sets have now been named:

• 315812 - "London Borough of Newham Host Borough 2012 Olympics Bid" (denamed)
• 315817 - "Transport for London"
• 315829 - "London Borough of Havering Celebrating 40 Years"
• 315845 - "Herbie Woodward"
• 315857 - "Stratford Connections"

Fleet details

Class	Operator	No. Built	Year Built	Cars per Set	Unit nos.
Class 315	National Express East Anglia	61	1980-1981	4	315801 - 315861

Gallery

• 

  Class 315 No. 315808 in the original Rail Blue and Grey livery, with the addition of the Network SouthEast 'flash' logo on the end.

• 

  315857 operating with WAGN at Cheshunt in July 2004, in a non-standard livery promoting Hertfordshire transport partnership Intalink.

• 

  Refurbished Class 315 No. 315804 at Enfield Town. This EMU was first overhauled by First Great Eastern, hence the revised end design.

• 

  A refurbished Class 315 No. 315833 at London Liverpool Street

• 

  A refurbished Class 315 No. 315838 at Chingford

• 

  A refurbished Class 315 No. 315857 at White Hart Lane, note the white stripe with National Express branding and the removal of the rainbow stripes

References

1. ^ "News Desk". Railway Herald (125): p. 4. 2008-03-21. http://www.railwayherald.org/magazine/pdf/RHUK/Issue125.pdf. Retrieved 2011-07-15. 
2. ^ National Express invests in upgrade of class 315 fleet - National Express East Anglia. Retrieved 2011-07-15.