British Rail Class 323

"Class 323" redirects here. For the Japanese train, see 323 series.

The British Rail Class 323 is a class of electric multiple unit (EMU) passenger train built by Hunslet Transportation Projects and Holec. All 43 units were built from 1992 through to 1995,^[4] although mock-ups and prototypes were built and tested in 1990 and 1991.^[18]

British Rail Class 323
West Midlands Railway Class 323 at Aston in 2019
Interior of a refurbished Arriva Rail North Class 323 unit
In service	7 February 1994 – present
Manufacturer	Hunslet Transportation Projects Holec Ridderkerk UK^[note 1]
Order no.	DMS vehicles: 31112 & 31114 PTS vehicles: 31113^[3]
Built at	Leeds^[4]
Replaced	Class 116 Class 304 Class 305 Class 308 Class 309 Class 310 Class 312
Constructed	1992–1995^[4]
Refurbished	2011–2013 2018–2021
Number built	43^[5]
Successor	Class 730 (West Midlands Railway)^[6]
Formation	3 cars per unit: DMS-TS-DMS^[7]
Diagram	DMS vehicles: EA272 TS vehicles: EH296^[3]
Fleet numbers	323201–323243^[7]
Capacity	As built: 284 seats Refurbished: 277 seats^[8]
Owners	Porterbrook
Operators	Current: Northern Trains West Midlands Railway^[9] Former: Central Trains First North Western London Midland Northern Rail Regional Railways^[5]
Depots	Current: Soho (Birmingham)^[3]^[5] Allerton (Liverpool)^[9] Future: Manchester International^[10] Former: Bletchley (Milton Keynes)^[5] Longsight (Manchester)^[5]
Lines served	Birmingham to Worcester via Bromsgrove line^[note 2] Cross-City Line Chase Line Crewe–Manchester line Glossop line Stafford–Manchester line
Specifications
Car body construction	Aluminium alloy^[3]
Train length	70.18 m (230 ft 3 in)
Car length	DMS vehs.: 22.810 m (74 ft 10.0 in) TS vehs.: 22.840 m (74 ft 11.2 in)
Width	2.800 m (9 ft 2.2 in)
Height	3.769 m (12 ft 4.4 in)
Floor height	1.156 m (3 ft 9.5 in)
Doors	Double-leaf sliding plug, each 1.305 m (4 ft 3.4 in) wide (2 per side per car)
Wheelbase	Over bogie centres: 16.000 m (52 ft 5.9 in)
Maximum speed	90 mph (145 km/h)^[7]
Axle load	Route Availability 3^[12]
Traction system	As built: Holec GTO-VVVF Post-2016: Alstom IGBT-VVVF^[13]^[note 3]
Traction motors	8 × Holec DMKT 52/24^[5] asynchronous three-phase AC
Power output	1,168 kW (1,566 hp) total^[12]
Electric system(s)	25 kV 50 Hz AC Overhead
Current collector(s)	Pantograph (Brecknell Willis)^[7]
UIC classification	Bo′Bo′+2′2′+Bo′Bo′
Bogies	DMS vehicles: RFS BP62 TS vehicles: RFS BT52^[14]^[note 4]
Braking system(s)	Westcode EP (disc) and regenerative^[7]^[note 5]
Safety system(s)	AWS TPWS^[7] (plus provision for BR ATP)
Coupling system	Tightlock
Multiple working	Within class (max. 4 units)^[7]
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Notes/references
Sourced from Webber 1999 unless otherwise noted.

Entering service in 1994, the 323s were among the last trains to enter service with British Rail before its privatisation in the mid-1990s. The units were designed to operate on inner-suburban commuter lines in and around Birmingham and Manchester with swift acceleration and high reliability. Of the 43 units built, 25 are in operation with West Midlands Railway and 18 with Northern Trains. In the first half of 2024 the West Midlands Railway units are planned to be replaced by new Class 730 EMUs,^[6] and 34 units will be operated by Northern Trains.

The units are known for the distinctive sounds that can be heard during acceleration or deceleration. These sounds are generated by the traction electronics.

Background

In 1990 the Regional Railways sector of British Rail tendered an order for new electrical multiple units, both to replace older electric units around Birmingham and Manchester, and to work services on the newly electrified Birmingham Cross-City Line. In June 1990, the contract was awarded to Hunslet Transportation Projects of Birmingham, a new company set up by a team of engineers and managers who had left Metro-Cammell (at that time a Birmingham-based train builder). It won the contract in competition with six other European train builders. The trains were designed in Birmingham, but built and fitted out at the Hunslet works in Leeds.^[19]

Initially 37 units were ordered, with the option for fourteen more. Eighteen would be needed for the Cross-City Line, while the remainder would replace older units (such as the Class 304 and Class 310); ultimately a total of 43 three-car units were actually built.^[19] When the electrification of the Leeds/Bradford – Skipton/Ilkley Airedale/Wharfedale Lines was confirmed in the early 1990s, Regional Railways and West Yorkshire PTE applied to the government for 14 units to add to those already on order.^[20] At the time, government spending on the railways was restricted due to the impending privatisation of British Rail and eventually, when funding was not forthcoming, the order was cancelled. Instead 21 second-hand Class 308 units from Network SouthEast were used until new Class 333 EMUs entered service in 2001.^[21]

The units are known for a distinctive whine made during acceleration or deceleration, rising/falling through multiple phases falsely suggestive of a motor connected to a gearbox with a great many ratios, caused by use of a gate turn-off thyristor-based inverter as part of the traction control circuitry that drives the 3-phase AC motors, a common setup in the early to mid 1990s which is notably also present in the Networker family of electric multiple units. The "gear-changing" effect is produced by the simplification of the PWM pulse pattern so as not to overload the thyristor, which switches at lower frequencies than later implementations of the variable-frequency drive and hence produces a lower-pitched sound.^[22]

Service history

British Rail service

 

Class 323 on approach to Crewe in 1999, still in BR-era Regional Railways/Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive livery.

The Class 323s were initially beset with a number of technical problems related to their traction motors, doors, traction converters, gearbox and vibration at high speed which took several years to resolve, preventing them from entering service. The first unit finally entered revenue-earning service on 7 February 1994.^[23] A mixed fleet of elderly diesels which the 323s had been intended to replace as well as some elderly Class 304, Class 308 and Class 310 electric units were drafted in to operate Cross-City Line services until the problems were resolved. Electric services began on 26 November 1992 on the northern section of the Cross-City Line, before the entire route was energised in June the following year. The 323s became reliable enough to operate a full service in 1995.^[19][24]

Post-privatisation service

As part of the privatisation of British Rail, all 43 were sold to Porterbrook in 1994 and allocated to the Central Trains and North West Regional Railways shadow franchises.^[25][26]

West Midlands

 

Central Trains Class 323 at Birmingham New Street in Centro livery in 2007

 

London Midland Class 323 at Birmingham New Street in 2014

Central Trains inherited from British Rail a fleet of 26 units in two blocks; 323201–323222 and 323240–323243. In November 2007, these passed to London Midland when it took over the franchise.

In December 2017, West Midlands Trains took over the West Midlands franchise, and the 323s passed to that company. It is expected that they will be replaced by new Class 730 units on the Cross-City Line in the first half of 2024.^[6]

In mid-to-late 2019, a number of West Midlands Trains' Class 323 units were used for an in-service pilot test of retrofitted Double Variable-Rate Sanders, sponsored by the Rail Safety and Standards Board. The test demonstrated that the new sanding equipment significantly improved braking performance in low-adhesion conditions.^[27]

To celebrate 30 years service in the West Midlands unit 323221 was repainted into the Centro livery.^[6]

To celebrate 30 years of operation of Soho Depot where the West Midlands fleet is maintained, the West Midlands fleet had Soho LMD 1993 Cross City Line Diamond logos applied to them.^[28]

North West

 

Northern Rail Class 323 in de-branded First North Western livery at Manchester Piccadilly in 2007

 

Northern Trains Class 323 at Liverpool Lime Street in 2021

The units were used to replace older stock of Classes Class 304 and Class 305, although some of the latter were retained in reserve until 2000. They are used on the Manchester electrified network, primarily to the south of the city.

At the time of the privatisation of British Rail, the Regional Railways North West franchise was re-branded North Western Trains, and it inherited 17 of these units (323223–323239). North Western Trains became First North Western in 1998 and its operations were taken over by Northern Rail in 2004. All passed to Arriva Rail North with the franchise in April 2016, and then to current operator Northern Trains on 1 March 2020.

The fleet is currently maintained at Allerton TMD, with units terminating in Manchester stabled at Stockport Edgeley carriage sidings where they receive overnight cleaning as well as Ardwick TMD operated by Siemens, where they are washed alongside the Class 185 TransPennine Express fleet. The 323s were formerly maintained at Longsight Electric TMD.^[5]

In the future the fleet will be stabled and maintained at Manchester International Depot.^[10]

Refurbishment

As part of a refurbishment in the early 2000s, the Class 323 fleet received guard's door control panels in the trailer vehicles.^[29]

Class 323s operated by both Northern Trains and West Midlands Railway received a full refurbishment between 2018 and 2021, with the first refurbished units delivered to West Midlands Railway in February 2019,^[30] and the first Arriva Rail North unit (323234) returning on 22 October 2019. The rest of fleet was refurbished to the same standard over the following years.^[31]

These works involved the replacement of seat covers, interior and exterior repainting (into the new livery of their respective operators), the installation of a new passenger information system and wheelchair call-for-aid buttons, and the addition of an accessible toilet in place of the original small toilet cubicles, among other modifications.^[32] The last Class 323 unit to be refurbished (323224) returned to Northern Trains on 23 January 2021, while the last West Midlands Railway 323 unit was returned in 2020.^[33]

Many of these changes were a requirement of the PRM (Persons with Restricted Mobility) TSI, with which all UK trains have to be compliant.^[34]

Accidents and incidents

On 18 December 2008, unit 323231 collided with a Nissan 4x4 which had rolled down the embankment from a delivery company car park at North Rode, Congleton.^[35] The unit spent 16 months out of service to undergo repair as a result.

On 17 December 2019, unit 323234 derailed in the Ardwick train depot. The train rolled approximately 4 feet away from the railhead and where it had ended up. No one was hurt in the accident as it occurred at a low speed.^[36]

Future

The 323s were expected to leave Arriva Rail North in December 2018 when replaced by the Class 331 fleet,^{[37][38][39][page needed]} but this did not occur. Instead, the Class 323 fleet was retained – and will be enlarged with a cascade of 17 units from West Midlands Railway.^[9][40]

The 17 West Midlands Railway units to be transferred to Northern once the Class 730s enter service, started to receive "digital modifications" in 2023.^[41] The first of these trains (323208) was transferred to Northern in October 2023.^[42]

Fleet details

Class	Operator	Qty.	Year built	Cars per unit	Unit nos.
323	West Midlands Railway	23	1992–1995	3	323201–323207, 323209–323211, 323213–323219, 323221–323222, 323240–323243
	Northern Trains	20			323208, 323212, 323220, 323223–323239^[43]

Named units

The following units have received names:^[28]

• 323201: Duddeston
• 323202: Butlers Lane
• 323203: Aston
• 323204: Selly Oak
• 323205: Blake Street
• 323206: Barnt Green
• 323207: Bournville
• 323208: Five Ways (de-named)^[44]
• 323209: Birmingham New Street
• 323210: Shenstone
• 323211: Four Oaks
• 323212: Bromsgrove (de-named)^[45]
• 323213: Sutton Coldfield
• 323214: Wylde Green (de-named)^[45]
• 323215: Gravelly Hill
• 323216: University
• 323219: Kings Norton
• 323220: Lichfield Trent Valley (de-named)^[45]
• 323221: Northfield (subsequently de-named)^[46]
• 323222: Redditch
• 323240: Erdington
• 323241: Dave Pomroy 323 Fleet Engineer 40 Years Service.
• 323242: Alvechurch
• 323243: Longbridge

Awards

At the 2023 Gold Spanner awards, the West Midlands Trains Class 323 fleet won a Silver spanner award for the "most improved Ex-BR EMU fleet over the past year".^[47]

Notes

1. Hunslet Transportation Projects Limited (HTPL) sold its Birmingham-based design, engineering, and project management functions – including responsibility for the Class 157 and 323 contracts – to the Dutch electrical engineering firm Holec [nl] in March 1994.^[1][2]
2. Between Birmingham and Bromsgrove.^[11]
3. The Alstom IGBT system delivers improved reliability, though – in order to avoid the need for expensive recertification – it is configured to emulate as exactly as possible the control and electromagnetic interference characteristics of the original system.^[13]
4. Both types of bogie are derived from the British Rail Engineering Limited (BREL) BT13 design.^[15] RFS Industries was formed in 1987 through a buy-out by former BREL managers of British Rail's Doncaster Wagon Works.^[16]
5. The regenerative system is the primary brake for the train in normal operation, blended with the friction brakes as required. Emergency braking uses the friction brakes alone, at a force 30% above the normal 'full service' application.^[17]

References

1. Webber 1999, Table 1 'Chronology'. "Hunslet TPL (Engineering and Project Management) becomes Holec Ridderkerk (Birmingham) Limited, latterly Holec Ridderkerk UK Limited: 15 March 1994".
2. Williams, Philip (23 March 1994). . Birmingham Post. Midland Independent Newspapers. p. 9. Archived from the original on 23 September 2022. Retrieved 4 December 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
3. Fox, Peter (1994). British Railways Pocket Book No. 4: Electric Multiple Units (7th ed.). Sheffield: Platform 5 Publishing. pp. 38–39. ISBN 9781872524603.
4. . Institution of Mechanical Engineers. 5 May 2017. Archived from the original on 8 January 2022. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
5. "Class 323". Modern Locomotives Illustrated. No. 228. Stamford: Key Publishing. December 2017. pp. 49–53.
6. "West Midlands Trains turns back the clock with retro repaint for Class 323". Today's Railways Uk. No. 252. February 2023. p. 55.
7. (PDF). Northern Rail Limited. 19 May 2013. Archived from the original on 30 August 2017. Retrieved 1 February 2016.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
8. "New era of rail travel to begin as West Midlands Railway unveils electric train fleet". West Midlands Railway. 8 February 2024. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
9. "Class 323 EMUs to remain in traffic with Northern". Rail Magazine. No. 886. Peterborough: Bauer Consumer Media. August 2019. p. 30.
10. "Manchester depot revitalised". Rail Magazine. No. 975. Peterborough: Bauer Consumer Media. 25 January 2023. p. 27.
11. "Exploring the "Elgar Line" to Hereford". Today's Railways UK. No. 261. November 2023. pp. 40–47.
12. (PDF) (1A ed.). Derby: Porterbrook Leasing Company. November 2013. pp. 16, 19–20. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 November 2015. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
13. Walmsley, Ian (23 February 2017). "A Traction Heart Transplant". Modern Railways. Stamford: Key Publishing. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
14. Marsden, C. J. (2007). "Class 323". Traction Recognition. Hersham: Ian Allan Publishing. pp. 184–185. ISBN 978-0-7110-3277-4. OCLC 230804946. OL 16902750M.
15. Webber 1999, p. 56.
16. "Catalogue Description: RFS Industries Ltd, Records 1987–1989". The National Archives. DZ MD/574. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
17. Webber 1999, p. 59.
18. . Porterbrook Leasing Company. Archived from the original on 10 November 2018. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
19. Boynton, John (1993). Rails Across The City; The Story of the Birmingham Cross City Line. Kidderminster: Mid England Books. ISBN 0-9522248-0-1.^{[page needed]}
20. Ward, Kris. "A Brief History of the Hunslet Engine Co". Leeds Engine Builders. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
21. . Siemens AG. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
22. "Electric Traction Control". The Railway Technical Website. from the original on 13 September 2019. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
23. Webber 1999, p. 49.
24. Boynton, John (1999). A Century of Railways around Birmingham and the West Midlands, Volume Three: 1973–1999. Kidderminster: Mid England Books. ISBN 0-9522248-6-0.^{[page needed]}
25. . Derby: Porterbrook Leasing Company. Archived from the original on 29 August 2017. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
26. . Derby: Porterbrook Leasing Company. Archived from the original on 29 August 2017. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
27. Dobell, Malcolm (29 June 2020). "A little sand in the right place works wonders". Rail Engineer. Coalville: Rail Media Group. from the original on 17 July 2020. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
28. Hilbert, Martyn (May 2024). "The West Midlands Class 323s". Feature Rolling Stock. Railways Illustrated. No. 255. pp. 62–65.
29. Plisner, Peter (17 April 2024). "A found farewell to Cross City stalwarts". Feature Rolling Stock. Rail Magazine. No. 1007. pp. 38–43.
30. "Class 323 Overhaul". Wolverton: Gemini Rail Group. from the original on 13 November 2019. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
31. . Wolverton: Gemini Rail Group. Archived from the original on 23 October 2019. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
32. "A range of improvements are being made to trains on the Cross City line". Birmingham: West Midlands Trains. 22 February 2019. from the original on 6 March 2019. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
33. Gemini Rail Group (23 January 2021). "Last class 323 PRM refurbished unit returned to Northern Trains". LinkedIn. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
34. . London: HM Government. 23 February 2017. Archived from the original on 13 November 2019. Retrieved 13 November 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
35. Rail Accident Report 33/2009: Collision and derailment of a passenger train at North Rode, between Macclesfield and Congleton, 18 December 2008 (PDF). Derby: Rail Accident Investigation Branch, Department for Transport. December 2009. (PDF) from the original on 27 February 2021. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
36. Day, Rebecca (17 December 2019). "Manchester Piccadilly rail services face severe disruption after train derails at Ardwick". Manchester Evening News. Reach plc. from the original on 5 January 2020. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
37. Barrow, Keith (22 January 2016). . International Railway Journal. Falmouth: Simmons-Boardman Publishing. Archived from the original on 7 February 2016. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
38. Franchise Agreement - Northern (Rail Public Register Copy) (PDF) (6.2 ed.). London: Department for Transport. 22 December 2015. Schedule 1.7, Table 1, Note H (pp. 146, 150). (PDF) from the original on 24 July 2019. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
39. "Likely removal of North West '323s' angers user group". Rail Magazine. No. 782. Peterborough: Bauer Consumer Media. 2 September 2015.
40. "Northern to retain 323s". Modern Railways. No. 852. Stamford: Key Publishing. September 2019. p. 12.
41. "Digital mods for 323s". Today's Railways UK. No. 257. July 2023. p. 62.
42. "West Midlands Trains sends its first '323' to Northern". Rail Magazine. No. 996. 15 November 2023. p. 22.
43. "Fleets to be displaced with no new work lined up". Network News. Rail Magazine. No. 1007. 17 April 2024. p. 24.
44. "EMUs". Stock changes. Today's Railways UK. No. 262. December 2023. p. 63.
45. Butlin, Ashley (February 2024). "Multiple Units". Stock Update. The Railway Magazine. Vol. 170, no. 1475. p. 89.
46. "Stock Changes". Today's Railways UK. No. 252. Sheffield: Platform 5 Publishing. February 2023. p. 57.
47. "Record attendance as 2023 Golden Spanner winners revealed". Modern Railways. 24 November 2023.

Sources

• Webber, B. (1999). "Class 323 Electric Multiple Units". Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part F: Journal of Rail and Rapid Transit. 213 (1): 49–62. doi:10.1243/0954409991531029. S2CID 109704714.

Further reading

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to British Rail Class 323.

• Marsden, Colin J. (2011). Traction Recognition (2nd ed.). Hersham: Ian Allan. pp. 196–197. ISBN 978-0-7110-3494-5. OCLC 751525080.