British Rail Class 322
| British Rail Class 322 | |
|---|---|
An original Class 322 at Stansted Airport.
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| In service | 1990–present |
| Manufacturer | BREL York |
| Family name | BR Second Generation (Mark 3) |
| Constructed | 1990 |
| Refurbishment | 2005–07 Hunslet-Barclay, Kilmarnock |
| Number built | 5 trainsets |
| Formation | 4 cars per trainset |
| Fleet numbers | 322481 - 322485 |
| Capacity | 309 seats per unit |
| Operator(s) | Northern |
| Specifications | |
| Width | 2.82 m (9 ft 3 in) |
| Height | 3.78 m (12 ft 4 7⁄8 in) |
| Maximum speed | 100 mph (161 km/h) |
| Weight | Total - 141.8 t (139.6 long tons) |
| Electric system(s) | 25 kV 50 Hz AC overhead |
| Braking system(s) | Air (Westcode) |
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge |
The British Rail Class 322 electric multiple units were built by BREL in 1990 for the dedicated Stansted Express service from London Liverpool Street to Stansted Airport. After becoming surplus to requirements on this route, the fleet saw short periods of use on various different routes around the country. The fleet is operated by Northern and can be seen working services around the Leeds area.
In 1987, British Rail (BR) was extending the electrification north from London Liverpool Street towards Cambridge. Included in this plan was the construction of new branch line, diverging from the mainline at Stansted Mountfitchet, to serve the newly built Stansted Airport, which opened in 1991. Therefore, BR decided to build a dedicated fleet of units to work the new Stansted Express service.
To reduce costs, the Class 322 units were built to the same design as the successful Class 321 units, which were still under construction for services on the Great Eastern Main Line (GEML) and West Coast Main Line (WCML). Although the Stansted route falls under the jurisdiction of Network SouthEast (NSE), the units were delivered into service in a special white livery with a broad green band, instead of the more usual NSE blue/red/white livery.
The units are fitted with Tightlock couplers. This allows them to work in multiple with Class 313, Class 314, Class 317, Class 318, Class 320 and Class 321 units, as well as units of the same class.
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