Turbo (BR train)

The Turbo or Network Turbo is a family of trains that were developed by British Rail for the railway network of the United Kingdom. These trains are all diesel multiple units, were built by BREL (later ABB), and are related to the Networker (train) family of trains.

The Turbos were built as a result of electrification not being possible on the lines out of the London terminals, Marylebone and Paddington. If these lines were electrified then the trains which would have operated would be members only of the Networker family.

Since the privatisation of British Rail, many of the new train operating companies have purchased Turbostar trains from Bombardier Transportation (formerly ADtranz), which are derived from the Turbo design. In fact, the first batch of Class 168 "Clubman" are practically Network Turbos as much of the design is based on the Turbo rather than the Turbostar.

The Turbostar is widely accepted to be the most reliable 3rd generation DMUFact|date=October 2007 and therefore is the most popular type of DMU built after privatisation.

Network Turbo

This branch includes two classes; the suburban Class 165 and the express version Class 166. These trains were built for the Network SouthEast sector of British Rail. Network SouthEast wanted these classes to replace the heritage DMUs as part of large modernisation plans for the mainlines out of London Marylebone and the local lines out of London Paddington. However, these two classes still operate as far out as Birmingham, Worcester, and Hereford.

Class 165

The Class 165 is a 2 and 3 car Diesel multiple unit (DMU), built for outer suburban workings. Upon privatisation, Chiltern Railways and Thames Trains (replaced by First Great Western Link, and in turn First Great Western) operate the class. The Class 165/0 batch are one of the few units in Britain to have ATP installed. 76 units of the class have been built between 1990 and 1992.

Class 166

The Class 166 is a 3 car Diesel multiple unit (DMU), built for mainline workings. 21 units of the class have been built between 1992 and 1993 and were an express version of the 165. These trains were inherited by Thames Trains upon privatisation, and they are now operated by First Great Western.

Class 168

The Class 168 was a planned Network SouthEast Diesel multiple unit (DMU), for their planned expansion of service on the Chiltern Main Line to Birmingham. These units were planned to have a speed of 100mph and have better acceleration compared to the 165 and 166. However, privatisation interevened and thus the units were not built for NSE. New private operators, Chiltern Railways ordered 5 168/0s from Adtranz in 1996 virtually identical to the units planned by NSE and thus can be considered as Turbos. Later batches 168/1 and 168/2 do not have turbo heritage.

See also

*Networker (train)
*Turbostar