British Rail Class 180
| British Rail Class 180 Adelante | |
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First Great Western Class 180 unit at Moreton-in-Marsh
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Original interior
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| In service | 2002–present |
| Manufacturer | Alstom |
| Built at | Washwood Heath, Birmingham |
| Family name | Coradia |
| Replaced |
InterCity 125 Class 222 Class 166 |
| Constructed | 2000–01 |
| Number built | 14 trainsets |
| Formation | 5 cars per trainset |
| Fleet numbers | 180101–180114 |
| Capacity | 287 seats |
| Operator(s) |
Great Western Railway Grand Central Hull Trains |
| Specifications | |
| Car body construction | Steel |
| Train length | 116.52 metres (382 ft 3 in) |
| Car length | 23.71 or 23.03 metres (77 ft 9 in or 75 ft 7 in) |
| Width | 2.73 metres (8 ft 11 in) |
| Doors | TEBL electric single-leaf swing plug, two per side at the ends of each carriage |
| Maximum speed | 125 mph (201 km/h) |
| Weight | 252.5 tonnes (248.5 long tons; 278.3 short tons) (5 car set) Axle load weight 13.25 tonnes |
| Prime mover(s) | Cummins QSK-19 |
| Power output | 560 kW (750 hp) at 2,100 rpm |
| Transmission | Voith Hydraulic T312BRE to Voith final drive 2 axles driven per car |
| AAR wheel arrangement | 2-B/B-2/B-2/B-2/B-2 |
| Bogies | Alstom MB2 |
| Braking system(s) | Air/Hydrodynamic (Retarders bypassed due to unreliability) |
| Safety system(s) | AWS, TPWS - ATP |
| Coupling system | Scharfenberg |
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge |
The Class 180 is a British diesel multiple-unit train built by Alstom at Washwood Heath in Birmingham between 2000 and 2001 for then-new express services operated by First Great Western (FGW). They are part of the Coradia 1000 family, along with the Class 175. For commercial purposes the Class 180s were given the branding Adelante, a name devised by FirstGroup, which has continued to be used by Hull Trains. After recurring technical problems with the trains, FGW handed all the units back to Angel Trains () in March 2009. The units were subsequently assigned to other companies. However, in 2012, FGW announced that it would be refurbishing and relaunching five Class 180 units. From July 2012, these re-entered service on the Cotswold Line, running most services between London and Worcester in order to release Class 165 and Class 166 units for further use in the Thames Valley.
In the late 1990s, FGW was keen to increase to half-hourly the frequency of its express service from London Paddington to South Wales. This required extra high-speed rolling stock, but there was little available. FGW therefore ordered fourteen 125 mph diesel multiple units from Alstom, similar to the 26 Class 175s then under construction for sister company First North Western. The order reportedly cost £74.5 million; financing was organised by Wiltshire Leasing, another subsidiary of FirstGroup.
The first unit, 180101, was unveiled on 18 April 2000. However, following a string of problems, full main line testing did not begin until December 2000, six months after it was intended to start. Despite this, Alstom claimed that the trains could enter service in time for the May 2001 timetable change. This date too was missed, and the trains did not go into squadron service until the next timetable change, in December 2001.
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