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British Rail Class 373
The British Rail Class 373, known in France as the TGV TMST and branded by Eurostar as the Eurostar e300, is a French designed and Anglo-French built electric multiple unit train that is used for Eurostar international high-speed rail services from the United Kingdom to France and Belgium through the Channel Tunnel. Part of the TGV family, it was built with a smaller cross-section to fit the smaller loading gauge in Britain, was originally capable of operating on the UK third rail network, and has extensive fireproofing in case of fire in the tunnel. It is both the second longest—387 metres (1,270 ft)—and second fastest train in regular UK passenger service, operating at speeds of up to 300 kilometres per hour (186 mph).
Known as the TransManche Super Train (TMST) or Cross-channel Super Train before being introduced in 1993, the train is designated Class 373 under the British TOPS classification system and series 373000 TGV in France. It was built by the Anglo-French company GEC-Alsthom at its factories in La Rochelle (France), Belfort (France) and Washwood Heath (Britain) and by Brugeoise et Nivelles (BN, now part of Alstom) in Bruges (Belgium).
Since the introduction of the new Class 374 e320 units from Siemens in 2015, refurbished versions of the Class 373 or TGV-TMST sets have been officially referred to as e300 by Eurostar to distinguish them from the new Velaro-based e320 fleet.
Two types of Class 373 were constructed:
The North of London sets were intended to provide Regional Eurostar services from continental Europe to and from north of London, using the West Coast Main Line and the East Coast Main Line, but these services never came to fruition because of long proposed journey times and the proliferation of budget airlines offering cheaper fares[citation needed]; there were also issues with the relatively crude design of British Rail overhead electrified lines and problems with finding suitable routes within Greater London.[citation needed]
The sets were ordered by the railway companies involved: 16 by SNCF, four by NMBS/SNCB, and 18 by British Rail, of which seven were the North of London sets. Upon the privatisation of British Rail, the BR sets were bought by London and Continental Railways, which named its subsidiary Eurostar (UK) Limited, now managed by SNCF (55%), LCR (40%) and SNCB (5%).
The first Eurostar Class 373 set, 373001/373002, was built at Belfort in 1992. Identified as "PS1" (Pre-Series 1), it was formed of two power cars and seven coaches, and was delivered for test running in January 1993. Its first powered runs were between Strasbourg and Mulhouse, and it was transferred to the UK for third-rail DC tests in June 1993. Full-length pre-series train PS2 was completed in May 1993.
To test the 750 V DC third rail shoes needed on the Southern Region lines in Great Britain, an eight-vehicle locomotive-hauled train was used in early 1994, consisting of a Class 73 locomotive (73205), a converted Class 33 locomotive acting as a Driving Brake Van (33115, reclassified as NZ under TOPS), and six carriages from Class 438 (4TC) multiple units 8007, 8023 and 8028.
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British Rail Class 373
The British Rail Class 373, known in France as the TGV TMST and branded by Eurostar as the Eurostar e300, is a French designed and Anglo-French built electric multiple unit train that is used for Eurostar international high-speed rail services from the United Kingdom to France and Belgium through the Channel Tunnel. Part of the TGV family, it was built with a smaller cross-section to fit the smaller loading gauge in Britain, was originally capable of operating on the UK third rail network, and has extensive fireproofing in case of fire in the tunnel. It is both the second longest—387 metres (1,270 ft)—and second fastest train in regular UK passenger service, operating at speeds of up to 300 kilometres per hour (186 mph).
Known as the TransManche Super Train (TMST) or Cross-channel Super Train before being introduced in 1993, the train is designated Class 373 under the British TOPS classification system and series 373000 TGV in France. It was built by the Anglo-French company GEC-Alsthom at its factories in La Rochelle (France), Belfort (France) and Washwood Heath (Britain) and by Brugeoise et Nivelles (BN, now part of Alstom) in Bruges (Belgium).
Since the introduction of the new Class 374 e320 units from Siemens in 2015, refurbished versions of the Class 373 or TGV-TMST sets have been officially referred to as e300 by Eurostar to distinguish them from the new Velaro-based e320 fleet.
Two types of Class 373 were constructed:
The North of London sets were intended to provide Regional Eurostar services from continental Europe to and from north of London, using the West Coast Main Line and the East Coast Main Line, but these services never came to fruition because of long proposed journey times and the proliferation of budget airlines offering cheaper fares[citation needed]; there were also issues with the relatively crude design of British Rail overhead electrified lines and problems with finding suitable routes within Greater London.[citation needed]
The sets were ordered by the railway companies involved: 16 by SNCF, four by NMBS/SNCB, and 18 by British Rail, of which seven were the North of London sets. Upon the privatisation of British Rail, the BR sets were bought by London and Continental Railways, which named its subsidiary Eurostar (UK) Limited, now managed by SNCF (55%), LCR (40%) and SNCB (5%).
The first Eurostar Class 373 set, 373001/373002, was built at Belfort in 1992. Identified as "PS1" (Pre-Series 1), it was formed of two power cars and seven coaches, and was delivered for test running in January 1993. Its first powered runs were between Strasbourg and Mulhouse, and it was transferred to the UK for third-rail DC tests in June 1993. Full-length pre-series train PS2 was completed in May 1993.
To test the 750 V DC third rail shoes needed on the Southern Region lines in Great Britain, an eight-vehicle locomotive-hauled train was used in early 1994, consisting of a Class 73 locomotive (73205), a converted Class 33 locomotive acting as a Driving Brake Van (33115, reclassified as NZ under TOPS), and six carriages from Class 438 (4TC) multiple units 8007, 8023 and 8028.