British Rail Class 172
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| British Rail Class 172 "Turbostar" | |
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 Artist's Impression of a Class 172/0 for London Overground and Chiltern Railways |
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| In service | From 2009 |
| Manufacturer | Bombardier Transportation |
| Family name | Turbostar |
| Refurbishment | None |
| Number built | 39 trainsets on order |
| Formation | 2/3 cars per trainset |
| Capacity | 172/0 tbc 172/2 116 seats 172/3 188 seats |
| Operator | Chiltern Railways London Midland London Overground |
| Lines served | Snow Hill Lines Chiltern Main Line Chase Line Gospel Oak to Barking Line London to Aylesbury Line |
| Specifications | |
| Car length | 77ft 6in (23.62m) |
| Width | 8ft 10in (2.69m) |
| Height | 12ft 4½in (3.77m) |
| Maximum speed | 75 mph (172/0) 100 mph (172/2 & 172/3) |
| Weight | To be announced |
| Engine | MTU 6H1800R83 |
| Gauge | Standard gauge (4ft 8½in) |
| Safety systems | (Chiltern sets: ATP, Tripcock) AWS, TPWS |
The Class 172 is a planned diesel multiple unit (DMU) of the Turbostar family similar to the Class 168, Class 170 and Class 171.
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[edit] Variants
There will be three sub-types:
- Class 172/0 - two car units operated by London Overground and Chiltern Railways
- Class 172/2 - two car units operated by London Midland
- Class 172/3 - three car units operated by London Midland
The 172/0s will resemble the existing Turbostar variants through not having end gangways and will have a top speed of 75 mph due to their use on the high volume/short distance services on the Gospel Oak to Barking line. The 172s used by London Midland will resemble the Class 375s and Class 377s by having end gangways to allow guards access to the whole train to provide a more secure environment, and to allow trains to operate with only one driver on empty stock moves where there are no authorised walkways at turnback sidings. These units will operate to a maximum of 100mph.[1] The Class 172 units will be reduced in weight compared to other Turbostar types thanks to the addition of similar lightweight bogies to those fitted to the Class 220 Voyager DEMUs.[2] The Class 172s have mechanical transmission rather than the hydraulic transmission that is fitted to the Class 168s, 170s & 171s.
[edit] Operators
London Midland, who operate the new West Midlands franchise, will operate a total of twenty-seven 2-car and 3-car units. The Class 172 will be built to replace the Class 150 units currently in use on services to and from Birmingham Snow Hill by July 2010.[3]
London Overground will be using 2-car Class 172 units to replace the Class 150s on the Gospel Oak to Barking Line from 2009.[4] LOROL will lease 8 two-car units of this stock from a rolling-stock leasing company (ROSCO), rather than them being purchased by TfL direct, as with the Class 378 units.[5]
Chiltern Railways will obtain four 2-car units in the same order as that of London Overground to supplement the current Class 165 Networker Turbos on their routes from London Marylebone (particularly the Aylesbury line), and these units will be delivered from 2010.[6]
In late 2007 and early 2008, orders were placed with Bombardier by two ROSCOs to purchase a number of Class 172 units. In December 2007, Porterbrook ordered 15 three-car and 12 two-car units for London Midland for delivery in 2010. In January 2008, Angel Trains, on behalf of London Overground and Chiltern Railways, ordered 12 two-car units for delivery starting in 2009. The two batches will differ through the London Overground/Chiltern units not having end gangways[7]
[edit] Differences from Class 150
Class 172 will have fewer seats than the Class 150s it replaces[1] (e.g. a 3 car 150/1 has 35 more seats than a 3 car 172/3) but greater overall capacity due to the increased room for standing passengers as well as wider aisles intended to speed boarding and reduce time in stations. This loss of seats may mean that more people will have to stand at peak times as the current 150s are often loaded to capacity. However, this may be offset by the easier use (through the end gangways) of the units in multiple.
[edit] References
- ^ a b Class 172 Technical Data
- ^ Gospel Oak to Barking improvement details
- ^ Bombardier to supply 69 Turbostar cars to Porterbrook Leasing in 129 million euro contract for the UK. Porterbrook (December 13, 2007).
- ^ New Plans. The Barking - Gospel Oak Line User Group.
- ^ "The Underground Roundel moves Overground" (September 2007). Today's Railways (UK) (70): 24–30.
- ^ Angel Trains orders 'green trains' for the UK rail market. Angel Trains (January 31, 2008).
- ^ "Class 172s ordered" (January 2008). Today's Railways (UK) (74): 56–58.
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