British Rail Class 376

British Rail Class 376 "Electrostar"
376015 at Woolwich Arsenal
In service	2004 - Current
Manufacturer	Bombardier Transportation
Family name	Electrostar
Constructed	2004-2005[1]
Number built	36 trainsets
Formation	5 cars per trainset DMSO-MSO-TSO-MSO-DMSO[1]
Capacity	344 seats[1]
Operator	Southeastern
Specifications
Maximum speed	75 mph (121 km/h)[1]
Electric system(s)	750 V DC third rail
Coupling system	Dellner[1]
Gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) Standard gauge

376030 departs New Cross

The Class 376 Suburban Electrostar is a model of electric multiple-unit passenger train manufactured by Bombardier Transportation. It is part of the Electrostar family, which are the most common EMUs introduced since the privatisation of British Rail. The units were ordered by Connex South Eastern, introduced by South Eastern Trains, and are now operated by Southeastern.

Design

It is a derivative of the Class 375 Electrostar designed specifically for use on the high-volume metro routes running south-east from London, England. The changes are mostly focussed on increasing the trains’ capacity and decreasing the time they must spend stopped in station. The Class 376’s doors are wider to allow more passengers to board at once, and are metro-style sliding pocket doors which are faster and more reliable than the Class 375’s plug doors, although they do not provide as much insulation for heating and cooling purposes. Also, no air conditioning is provided, with hopper style windows available for ventilation. In order to provide more standing room, the trains also have fewer seats, more handrails, and no on-board toilets (South Eastern promised to provide additional facilities in their stations to compensate) and are limited to 57 minutes on any single passenger journey as a result.

Class 376 units are five carriages long, and unlike the Class 375, have full-width cabs instead of gangways at the ends of the train; it is therefore not possible to walk between two coupled Class 376 units. The cab front is also smooth and ‘step free’ to reduce the problem of ‘train surfing’ in South London.

Like all new trains in the United Kingdom using third-rail power, one carriage in each unit has a recess in its roof where a pantograph could be fitted, so as to allow for future conversion to overhead AC power.

Although all units are DC only, the class is numbered in the 3xx series normally used for AC and dual-voltage units. There is a need to change the configuration of these units as per the implementation of Network Rail's Kent Route Utilisation Strategy. The Class 376 units would be anomalous within a network being reconfigured to 12-coach running.

Routes

376022 stands at Sevenoaks.

All Class 376 trains were allocated to Slade Green, but due to the high volume of work at Slade Green, these trains now go to Ramsgate for routine maintenance. They are most commonly seen on routes between London to Dartford, Slade Green (loop service), Hayes, Orpington and Sevenoaks.^[2]

Fleet details

Class	Operator	No. Built	Year Built	Cars per Set	Unit nos.
Class 376	Southeastern	36	2004-05	5	376001 - 376036

See also

• Classes 357, 375, 377, 378 & 379 Electrostar
• Classes 168, 170, 171 & 172 Turbostars
• Southeastern
• Bombardier

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e} Marsden, Colin J. (2007). Traction Recognition. Ian Allan Publishing. p. 210. ISBN 978-0-7110-3277-4. 
2. ^ National Rail Southeastern On Train Facilities List

External links

• railfaneurope.net Class 376 picture gallery
• Southern Electric fleet review - Electrostars