British Rail Class 159
| British Rail Class 159 South Western Turbo |
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A pair of Class 159 No 159016 and No 159009 at Exeter St Davids
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The refurbished interior of a Class 159
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| In service | 1993 – present |
| Manufacturer | BREL Derby |
| Family name | Sprinter |
| Constructed | 1989–1992 (Class 158/0, later Class 159/1) 1992–1993 (Class 159/0) |
| Refurbishment | 2000–2001 (Class 159/0) 2007–2008 (Class 159/0 and Class 159/1) |
| Number built | 22 trainsets (159/0) 8 trainsets (159/1) |
| Number in service | 30 trainsets |
| Formation | 3 cars per trainset |
| Fleet numbers | 159001 – 159022, 159101 – 159108 |
| Capacity | Standard: 172 First: 24 |
| Operator(s) | South West Trains |
| Line(s) served | West of England Main Line |
| Specifications | |
| Car body construction | Welded aluminium |
| Car length | 23.21 m (76 ft 2 in) |
| Width | 2.82 m (9 ft 3 in) |
| Height | 3.81 m (12 ft 6 in) |
| Maximum speed | 90 mph (145 km/h) |
| Weight | 37.8 t (37 long tons; 42 short tons) |
| Prime mover(s) | Diesel, one per car Cummins 400 hp (298 kW) (Class 159/0) Cummins 350 hp (261 kW) (Class 159/1) |
| Transmission | Voith Hydraulic T211r 2 axles driven per car |
| Safety system(s) | AWS, TPWS |
| Coupling system | BSI |
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge |
The Class 159 is a class of British diesel multiple-unit trains of the Sprinter family, built in 1989–1992 by BREL at the Derby Carriage and Wagon Works as Class 158. Before entering traffic, the original 22 units were modified at Rosyth Dockyard to Class 159 to operate express services from London Waterloo to Exeter and replace locomotive-hauled passenger trains.
The units were originally branded by Network SouthEast as South Western Turbo.
In the late 1980s, the locomotive-hauled stock on Network SouthEast's West of England route from London Waterloo to Salisbury, Yeovil Junction and Exeter St Davids was in urgent need of replacement. The British Rail Class 50 locomotives were not suited to the stop-start nature of the route, and frequently broke down. Because of the long sections of single track west of Salisbury following the Beeching Axe, a single breakdown could cause chaos. Various options were considered including electrification, shortened HSTs, construction of new locomotives and stock (a passenger version of the proposed Class 48), or the proposed Class 171 (an intercity version of the Class 165 – not to be confused with the later Turbostars). A study found the best options were electrification or new DMUs.
With the UK economy in decline in the early 1990s, it was found that Regional Railways had over-ordered Class 158s at the same time as Network SouthEast was looking for a similar number of new diesel trains. NSE agreed to take on the surplus Class 158s.
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