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British Rail Class 350
The British Rail Class 350 Desiro is a class of electric multiple unit passenger train built by Siemens Mobility to its Desiro design between 2004 and 2014. Fifty are operated by West Midlands Trains, having previously been operated by Central Trains, Silverlink, Southern, London Midland, First TransPennine Express and TransPennine Express. The remaining 37 are in store.
The Class 350/1 units were originally part of an order for 32 five-car Class 450 units for South West Trains. However, they were never built as such. Of the 160 carriages ordered, 40 were diverted as an additional 10 four-car Class 450 units, and the remaining 120 were modified as 30 four-car Class 350/1 units.[citation needed] These entered service in 2005 and were used jointly by Central Trains and Silverlink, both owned by National Express. The top speed of the fleet was originally 100 mph (160 km/h), but all 350/1s were modified to allow 110 mph (180 km/h) running from December 2012, in order to make better use of paths on the busy West Coast Main Line.
In late 2007, a second batch of 37 was ordered by London Midland to replace its Class 321s. Designated as Class 350/2 units, they entered service between 2008 and 2009. Class 350/2s differ from the Class 350/1 units in two key aspects: having 3+2 seating in standard class (because they work short-hop commuter services; the Class 350/1 used for longer distance services are 2+2 throughout and lack the dual-voltage capability of the 350/1. Initially, Class 350/2 units had a maximum speed of 100 mph (160 km/h), but the fleet was upgraded to allow 110 mph running during 2018. This was to allow the operators to run mixed 350/1 and 350/2 services without causing delays, especially important given the capacity changes which HS2 works at London Euston were expected to cause.
Between 2013 and 2014, a further 20 were manufactured for London Midland and First TransPennine Express. Each took on ten units, the former designated the Class 350/3 and the latter the Class 350/4.
Class 350 trains are nearly identical to those of Class 450. The latter class is only fitted with traction equipment for Southern Region 750 V DC third rail, whilst the Class 350/1 units can operate from either 25 kV 50 Hz AC OLE, as is done in regular service, or alternatively third rail. This dual-voltage capability was utilised when several units were leased to Southern in 2009, in order to cover for similarly equipped Class 377/2 units temporarily sub-leased to First Capital Connect. All Class 350 units built since are not equipped for third-rail use but, like most modern British EMUs, can be retrofitted if necessary.
Every set of doors has its own set of guard-operated door controls behind a lockable panel. The cabs have three radio systems - Cab Secure Radio (CSR), National Radio Network (NRN), and the newest system, GSM-R. CCTV and dot-matrix destination screens are fitted throughout the train.
All 77 of London Midland's Class 350s (30 350/1s, 37 350/2s and 10 350/3s) were inherited by West Midlands Trains on 9 December 2017.
Then, in 2019-20, the 10 Class 350/4s were transferred from TransPennine Express, meaning that West Midlands Trains then operated all 87 350s built (30 350/1s, 37 350/2s, 10 350/3s and 10 350/4s).
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British Rail Class 350
The British Rail Class 350 Desiro is a class of electric multiple unit passenger train built by Siemens Mobility to its Desiro design between 2004 and 2014. Fifty are operated by West Midlands Trains, having previously been operated by Central Trains, Silverlink, Southern, London Midland, First TransPennine Express and TransPennine Express. The remaining 37 are in store.
The Class 350/1 units were originally part of an order for 32 five-car Class 450 units for South West Trains. However, they were never built as such. Of the 160 carriages ordered, 40 were diverted as an additional 10 four-car Class 450 units, and the remaining 120 were modified as 30 four-car Class 350/1 units.[citation needed] These entered service in 2005 and were used jointly by Central Trains and Silverlink, both owned by National Express. The top speed of the fleet was originally 100 mph (160 km/h), but all 350/1s were modified to allow 110 mph (180 km/h) running from December 2012, in order to make better use of paths on the busy West Coast Main Line.
In late 2007, a second batch of 37 was ordered by London Midland to replace its Class 321s. Designated as Class 350/2 units, they entered service between 2008 and 2009. Class 350/2s differ from the Class 350/1 units in two key aspects: having 3+2 seating in standard class (because they work short-hop commuter services; the Class 350/1 used for longer distance services are 2+2 throughout and lack the dual-voltage capability of the 350/1. Initially, Class 350/2 units had a maximum speed of 100 mph (160 km/h), but the fleet was upgraded to allow 110 mph running during 2018. This was to allow the operators to run mixed 350/1 and 350/2 services without causing delays, especially important given the capacity changes which HS2 works at London Euston were expected to cause.
Between 2013 and 2014, a further 20 were manufactured for London Midland and First TransPennine Express. Each took on ten units, the former designated the Class 350/3 and the latter the Class 350/4.
Class 350 trains are nearly identical to those of Class 450. The latter class is only fitted with traction equipment for Southern Region 750 V DC third rail, whilst the Class 350/1 units can operate from either 25 kV 50 Hz AC OLE, as is done in regular service, or alternatively third rail. This dual-voltage capability was utilised when several units were leased to Southern in 2009, in order to cover for similarly equipped Class 377/2 units temporarily sub-leased to First Capital Connect. All Class 350 units built since are not equipped for third-rail use but, like most modern British EMUs, can be retrofitted if necessary.
Every set of doors has its own set of guard-operated door controls behind a lockable panel. The cabs have three radio systems - Cab Secure Radio (CSR), National Radio Network (NRN), and the newest system, GSM-R. CCTV and dot-matrix destination screens are fitted throughout the train.
All 77 of London Midland's Class 350s (30 350/1s, 37 350/2s and 10 350/3s) were inherited by West Midlands Trains on 9 December 2017.
Then, in 2019-20, the 10 Class 350/4s were transferred from TransPennine Express, meaning that West Midlands Trains then operated all 87 350s built (30 350/1s, 37 350/2s, 10 350/3s and 10 350/4s).