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British Rail Class 317The British Rail Class 317 electrical multiple units were built by BREL at York Works in two batches, from 1981-82 and 1985-87. Description Class 317/1 The first batch of 48 units, built in 1981-82, were classified as Class 317/1. Units were numbered in the range 317301-348, and had a maximum speed of 100 mph. Each unit consisted of four carriages; two outer driving 2nd class only vehicles, an intermediate trailer with both 1st and 2nd class, and a motor vehicle with 2nd class seating. The technical description of the formation of the units is DTSO+MSO+TCO+DTSO. Individual carriages were numbered as follows: - 77000-77047 - DTSO
- 62661-62708 - MSO
- 71577-71624 - TCO
- 77048-77095 - DTSO
These units were built to operate services on the newly electrified London St. Pancras to Bedford route. They replaced the elderly and unreliable Class 127 "Bed-Pan" diesel multiple units. However, they did not enter service immediately due to an industrial dispute with the unions, and the "Bed-Pan" diesel units lingered on until final being replaced in mid-1983. Units were delivered in the standard livery of BR Blue/Grey. The use of the Class 317 units on Bedford services was always intended to be a temporary measure. In 1986, the route came under control of the Thameslink subsector of newly created Network SouthEast. From 1987, new dual-voltage Class 319 units were introduced on the route, allowing the creation of a new cross-London service, from Bedford to Brighton, via Farringdon and City Thameslink station. The Class 317 units were displaced to outer-suburban services on the WCML out of London Euston station, to Milton Keynes and Northampton. They replaced the slam-door Class 310 units, which subsequently transferred to the London-Tilbury-Southend route. However, again, the use of Class 317 units out of Euston proved to be short-lived. In 1989, the second batch of new Class 321 were introduced onto WCML services. The Class 317 units were again displaced, this time to the Great Northern and West Anglia routes out of London King's Cross and London Liverpool Street, where they joined the second batch units. Therefore, for the first time, the entire Class 317 fleet was operating in the same place. Class 317/2 The second batch of 20 units, built in 1985-86, were classified as Class 317/2. Units were numbered in the range 317349-368. In 1987, a further four units were built, numbered 317369-372. The formation of the second batch sets was similar to that of the earlier units, except the first class seating was moved to one of the driving vehicles. Thus, each unit was formed DTSO+PMSO+TSO+DTCO. Individual carriages were numbered as follows: - 77200-77219 and 77280-77283 - DTSO
- 62846-62865 and 62886-62889 - MSO
- 71734-71753 and 71762-71765 - TSO
- 77220-77239 and 77284-77287 - DTCO
The second batch units were built to operate outer-suburban trains on the Great Northern route from London King's Cross to Stevenage, Cambridge and Peterborough. Like the first batch units, they were delivered in BR Blue/Grey livery. The units replaced the slam-door Class 312 units, dating from 1975, which subsequently transferred to the Great Eastern, and London-Tilbury-Southernd routes. In 1986, the route came under the control of the newly created Network SouthEast, which introduced a bold new blue, red and white livery. The extension of the electric wires soon allowed the units to work services on the West Anglia route from London Liverpool Street to Cambridge. In 1991, electrication spread north from from Cambridge to Ely and King's Lynn, allowing the replacement of locomotive-hauled trains. Current Operations With the privatisation of Britain's railways, the Class 317 fleet was incorporated into the West Anglia Great Northern (WAGN) franchise. Since then, various changes have occurred to the fleet, as described below. Great Northern The Great Northern franchise was created on 1st April 2004, with the splitting up of the WAGN franchise. Great Northern operates services out of London King's Cross and Moorgate. The fleet of 13 Class 317/1 units supplement the Class 365 "Networkers" on outer-suburban and fast services, and Class 313 units on inner-suburban services. It is expected that refurbishment of the Class 317/1 units will begin in 2005. LTS Rail In 1996, LTS Rail began to hire Class 317/1 units from its sister National Express Group franchise WAGN. At first only two units were hired, but by mid-1997 this had increased to a total of 18 units. Units were maintained at LTS Rail's main depot at East Ham. The Class 317 units enabled LTS Rail to replace the elderly Class 302 slam-door EMUs, the last examples of which were withdrawn in 1998. The Class 317 units also replaced some of the Class 310 fleet on off-peak workings, pending introduction of new Class 357 "Electrostar" units. Many of the units hired to LTS Rail were repainted in a variation of the existing Network SouthEast blue, red and white livery. The red stripe was replaced with a green stripe, and both the blue band and green stripe extended to the cab ends. The units were slowly returned to WAGN from 1999, with the introduction of the new "Electrostar" units. The last examples were returned by 2000. However, unreliability of the "Electrostars" meant that four units were still hired on a daily basis until 2002. These units were maintained as part of the main WAGN fleet, and therefore the specific units involved changed when units required maintenance at WAGN's Hornsey depot. 'One' Railway On 1st April 2004, the West Anglia and Stansted Express routes became part of the new Greater Anglia franchise, which operates under the name of 'One' Railway. The Stansted Express route operates using the dedicated fleet of nine Class 317/7 units. Since the route was taken over by 'One', a new livery has been introduced, which is similar to corporate livery, but with the multi-coloured bands at the end of vehicles replaced with orange bands. The West Anglia route is operated using the 24 strong Class 317/6 fleet, supplemented with 14 standard Class 317/1 units. They are mainly used on outer-suburban services from London Liverpool Street to Chingford, Enfield and Cambridge. One Class 317/1 unit is also used each Saturday on the boat-train to Harwich International. It is expected that refurbishment of the Class 317/1 units will begin in 2005. Thameslink In 2002, Thameslink began hiring four Class 317/1 units from WAGN to allow it to run additional Bedford to Moorgate services. Unlike when units were hired to LTS Rail, specific units were not involved. Instead, units were still maintained by WAGN and only hired for a fortnight. Two units each week were transferred in each direction, generally being hauled over the non-electrified route by two Class 31 locomotives provided by Fragonset Railways. In 2004, when the WAGN franchise was split, twelve Class 317/1 units were transferred to Thameslink from the Great Northern route. This was because a planned route blockade for engineering works meant that extra units were required for Bedford services. The Class 317 units were replaced on Great Northern by Class 365 "Networkers", themselves displaced from South Eastern Trains by new Class 375 "Electrostars". The Class 317 units transferred to Thameslink are maintained at a new depot built at Bedford. They are restricted to services on the Northern half of the franchise only, as only multi-voltage or DC units can operate South of Farringdon. It is expected that the majority of the units will return to Great Northern after the engineering blockade in 2005. West Anglia Great Northern (WAGN) Upon privatisation of Britain's railways in 1995, the entire Class 317 fleet was initially transferred to the West Anglia Great Northern (WAGN) franchise. WAGN operated commuter services out of London King's Cross, London Liverpool Street and Moorgate stations. The Class 317 fleet was employed by WAGN on various services. Units worked all London Liverpool Street to Cambridge services on the West Anglia route, and many stopping services to intermediate destinations. The fleet also worked services on the Great Northern route, from London King's Cross to Cambridge, Peterborough, Hertford, Stevenage and King's Lynn, plus services from Moorgate to Letchworth Garden City, Hertford and Welwyn Garden City. The non-stop London to Cambridge "Cambridge Cruiser" trains were worked by Class 365 units, although Class 317 units were occasionally used. In 1995, WAGN downgraded seven Class 317/1 units (nos. 317322-328) to standard-class only seating for use on local commuter trains out of Liverpool Street. These units were renumbered into the range 317392-398. These units were soon returned to their original configuration to prevent timetabling difficulties, such as ensuring they did not operate longer distance services. The first major changes to the fleet occurred in 1996/97, when 18 units were transferred to the LTS Rail franchise to help eliminate elderly Class 302, 310 and 312 slam-door stock. These units were repainted into a variation of the NSE livery, where the red stripe was replaced with a green stripe. These units had all returned to WAGN by 1999, but many were not repainted back into NSE livery. In 1998/99, WAGN started to refurbish its Class 317/2 fleet. The work was carried out by Railcare (now owned by Alstom) at Wolverton Works, and involved new interiors and seating arrangements. The units were outshopped in a new livery of white, with a grey band across the window area, blue and yellow bands on the lower half of the body, red doors, and a grey sweep at the cab ends. Units were reclassified as Class 317/6 and were renumbered into the range 317649-672. In 2000, nine Class 317/1 units were selected to be rebuilt for the dedicated Stansted Express service, from London Liverpool Street to Stansted Airport, replacing the previously dedicated Class 322 units. The work was again carried out by Railcare at Wolverton, and included the fitting of luggage racks. The units also received a revised front end design, and a new metallic blue livery. The nine units were reclassified as Class 317/7, and were renumbered such that the last two digits of the set number remained unchanged. Since conversion, these have units rarely strayed away from the Stansted Express service. Many of the WAGN Class 317/1 units still wore the Network SouthEast (NSE) blue and red livery dating from 1986. In 2001, a new livery of metallic purple, with lilac doors was introduced. The first unit so treated was no. 317312, which had recently returned from loan to LTS Rail. The livery was progressively applied to the Class 317/1 fleet, with the final NSE examples disappearing by mid-2004. By April 2004, the only units not repainted were nos. 317301-307, which were hired to Thameslink and remained in LTS livery. The livery has also been applied to Class 313 and Class 315 units. In April 2004, the WAGN franchise was split into the Great Northern and West Anglia routes. The latter became part of the new Greater Anglia franchise, which operates under the title 'One' Railway . The Great Northern route is planned to be incorporated into a new expanded Thameslink franchise at some point in the future. These changes resulted in the Class 317 fleet being divided among Great Northern, 'One' Railway, and Thameslink. Fleet Details | o. Built (* Converted) | Year Built | Number Range | align=left|Operator | No. in Traffic | align=left|Unit Numbers | align=left|Notes | | owspan=4|Class 317/1 | rowspan=3 align=center|48 | rowspan=3 align=center|1981-82 | rowspan=3 align=center|317301-348 | Great Northern | align=center|13 | 317336-348 | align=left|- | | One' West Anglia | align=center|14 | 317317/318/320/321/324-328/330/331/333-335 | align=left|- | | hameslink | align=center|12 | 317301-307/311-313/315/316 | align=left|- | | lign=center|7* | align=center|1981-82 | align=center|317392-398 | West Anglia Great Northern | align=center|- | align=left|- | Second class only units, formed in 1995. Returned to standard condition by 2000. | | b>Class 317/2 | align=center|24 | align=center|1985-87 | align=center|317349-372 | West Anglia Great Nothern | align=center|- | align=left|- | Converted to Class 317/6 in 1998-99. | | b>Class 317/6 | align=center|24* | align=center|1985-87 | align=center|317649-672 | 'One' West Anglia | align=center|24 | 317649-672 | Converted from Class 317/2 in 1998-99. | | b>Class 317/7 | align=center|9* | align=center|1981-82 | align=center|317708-732 | 'One' Stansted Express | align=center|9 | 317708-710/714/719/722/723/729/732 | Dedicated Stansted Express units. Converted from Class 317/1 in 2000. |
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