| British Rail Class 378Capitalstar | |
|---|---|
 London Overground Class 378 approachingClapham Junction | |
 The interior of a Class 378 unit | |
| In service | 29 July 2009 – present |
| Manufacturer | Bombardier Transportation |
| Built at | Derby Litchurch Lane Works |
| Family name | Electrostar |
| Replaced | |
| Constructed |
|
| Number built | 57 |
| Successor | Class 710[a] |
| Formation |
|
| Fleet numbers |
|
| Capacity |
|
| Owners | Transport for London[1] |
| Operators | London Overground |
| Lines served | |
| Specifications | |
| Car body construction | Weldedaluminium body withsteel cab ends |
| Train length | 101.350 m (332 ft 6.2 in) |
| Car length |
|
| Width | 2.800 m (9 ft 2.2 in) |
| Height | 3.774 m (12 ft 4.6 in) |
| Floor height | 1.151 m (3 ft 9.3 in)[2] |
| Doors | Double-leaf pocket sliding,each 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) wide (2 per side per car) |
| Wheel diameter | 840 mm (2 ft 9 in) (nominal)[2] |
| Wheelbase |
|
| Maximum speed | 75 mph (121 km/h) |
| Weight |
|
| Steep gradient | 1 in 29[2] |
| Traction motors | 3 per motor car,each of 600 kW (800 hp) |
| Power output | 2,400 kW (3,200 hp)[2] |
| Electric system(s) |
|
| Current collection |
|
| Bogies |
|
| Braking system(s) |
|
| Safety system(s) | |
| Coupling system | Dellner 12 |
| Multiple working | Within class, and with Classes375,376,377 and379 |
| Seating | Longitudinal |
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)standard gauge |
| Notes/references | |
| Sourced from[3] and[4] unless otherwise noted. | |
TheBritish Rail Class 378Capitalstar[5] is anelectric multiple unit passenger train specifically designed for theLondon Overground network. It is part ofBombardier Transportation'sElectrostar family. A total of 57 five-car trains have been built, most of which were originally built as three- or four-car units.
The Class 378s were ordered in August 2006 in response to passenger dissatisfaction with existing mass-transit trains operated bySilverlink, such as the ageing fleet ofClass 313. The procurement of a modern replacement was viewed as yielding better performance than the refurbishment of the existing units. Accordingly, a total of 57 Class 378s were manufactured at Bombardier's Derby site; the first example of which entered revenue service during July 2009. The type's introduction was roughly half a year later than originally planned, largely as a result of difficulties with multiple suppliers.
In design terms, the train is broadly similar to theClass 376 trains operated bySoutheastern, featuring the same wider metro-style sliding pocket doors for more efficient boarding and alighting. However, it also has significant differences from the Class 376, such as fully longitudinal seating similar to that used onLondon Underground rolling stock to give more standing and lessseating capacity and reduce overcrowding; the interior was optimised for the high-volume metro-style services being operated by London Overground.
By the start of the twenty-first century, several types of rolling stock that had originally entered service multiple decades before were in operation acrossLondon. In particular, theSilverlink franchise on theNorth London line was frequently regarded by travellers as having offered a poor service,[6] complaints centring around extremely congested trains and unreliable service.[7] The Class 313 was in use for these services at this time; its interiors were of noticeably lower quality compared to that of newer trains and the trains themselves were viewed as unwelcoming to passengers, particularly during late hours.[8] Officials atTransport for London (TfL) were motivated to improve the situation and decided on a modern replacement for the Class 313. Accordingly, they began to investigate various options for doing so.[8]
In August 2006, it was announced that a contract worth £223 million had been signed between rolling-stock manufacturer Bombardier and TfL, under which an initial batch of 152 individual cars would be supplied, deliveries of which were to start in September 2008. The original contract contained an option to purchase additional cars, up to a total of 216. Maintenance arrangements were also included, involving the construction of a new depot nearNew Cross Gate station to perform heavy maintenance tasks upon this new fleet.[9] The new fleet, designated Class 378, was manufactured by Bombardier at its facility in Derby.[8]
In July 2007, TfL announced it had ordered a further 36 Capitalstar carriages for £36 million.[10] The order comprised three additional four-car units for the East London Line, and 24 additional carriages to extend the original 3-car units for the North London Line into 4-car units, to be delivered in 2011.[11]
On 16 September 2008, the first complete unit was unveiled and began testing on Bombardier's test track before being delivered for testing on the national network.[11] On the first public unveiling of the Class 378, TfL announced that it had reached an agreement to procure a further three dual-voltage units, taking the total number to 57. These units were intended to enhance the fleet once theSouth London line was brought under London Overground's control.[12]
In February 2013, approval was gained for the procurement of 57 additional vehicles, allowing the whole Class 378 fleet to be lengthened from four to five cars for greater capacity.[13] At the time, TfL's business plan called for five-car services to begin on the East London Line from November 2014, while the rest of the electrified Overground network would follow by the end of 2015.[14][15] In January 2016, TfL announced that all units were now in a five-car configuration.[16]
TfL had originally purchased the fleet outright but, in 2007, it completed asale and leaseback deal that saw ownership pass to QW Rail Leasing. The fifth cars were similarly transferred to QW in 2013, with both leases including an initial lease commitment until June 2027. In March 2023, TfL's finance committee was asked to approve plans to terminate these leases early so that the fleet could be repurchased by TfL, on the grounds that doing so would be cheaper and less risky than continuing the leases.[17][18] As part of the request, it was stated that TfL's fleet strategy called for the Class 378 fleet to remain in service until it became life-expired in 2044.[17] This purchase was completed in summer 2023, at a cost of £281m.[1]
The Class 378Capitalstar is a dual-voltageelectric multiple-unit (EMU), designed to be supplied via either the 750 VDCthird rail or the25 kV 50 Hz ACoverhead lines.[8] It is a customised version of Bombardier'sElectrostar family, aimed at the short-distance mass-transit end of the market. Following completion of five-car upgrades in 2016,[16] each unit is formed of a driving motor vehicle and an intermediate motor vehicle either side of an intermediate trailer. In Class 378/2 units, the intermediate trailer carries the pantograph and electrical transformer.
The interior of the train was designed to maximise passenger capacity. Traditional seating was eliminated and longitudinal seats adopted instead, along with wide areas around the doors to speed the entrance and exit of passengers.[8] Furthermore, a significant portion of each car is intended for use by standing passengers, and thus have grabrails and other holding points for such passengers to steady themselves, broadly similar to aLondon Underground tube train. The trains lack toilets, as the whole NLL line takes a little more than one hour to traverse from end to end.[8][4] In conjunction with the base internal configuration, the cars were outfitted with numerous modern amenities aimed at improving passenger comfort, such asair conditioning, real-timepassenger information systems, wheelchair accessibility (including the facilitating of level access), and different seatmoquette colours to highlight priority seating.[8][11]
To facilitate safe use in the narrow single-bore tunnels on theEast London Line, the units are provided with adetrainment device at each driver's cab in the form of folding stairs that deploy from the cab's nose door.[17]
The train is equipped with sensors to detect how many people are in each coach, and automatically adjust how much energy is expended on heating a particular carriage based upon this capacity, among other intelligent management functions that are performed.[8] ExternalCCTV is displayed automatically on releasing the doors via an in-cab monitor, removing the need forDriver-Only Operation (DOO) equipment such as monitors/mirrors at platforms. A somewhat similar arrangement to this had already come into use onSouthern'sElectrostar units. Furthermore, in the event of a passenger operating an emergency alarm, the internal CCTV is automatically displayed on the in-cab monitor, allowing the driver to view the affected area of the train, while anintercom allows the driver to speak to the passenger.[4]
The Class 378 was originally intended to enter service in January 2009. This schedule was delayed by seven months as a consequence of thegreat recession of 2008, which had forced several suppliers intobankruptcy, resulting in a shortage of several components.[19] This also affected delivery of the similarClass 377/5 units toFirst Capital Connect. As a result, the first Class 378 unit did not enter service until 29 July 2009.[12]
During 2011, several Class 378s suffered unplanned shutdowns while operating along the North London Line. The cause was found to be harmonic interference generated by passingClass 92 locomotives, which occasionally traverse the line for freight movements. The problem was permanently resolved after Bombardier altered the interference tolerance settings.[20]
During January 2016, TfL announced the completion for work to extend all 57 units into a five-car configuration.[16] In December 2018, unit 378232 was shortened back to four cars to run on theGospel Oak to Barking line while delays to delivery ofClass 710 were resolved. 378206 and 378209 were also shortened to four carriages to work as temporary cover while the diesel-poweredClass 172s were withdrawn.[21][22]
In July 2015, London Overground announced an order for 45 newClass 710 units, some of which would displace the Class 378s in use on the Watford DC line. These displaced units will then be cascaded to strengthen services on the other lines the units are used on.[23] Three years later, London Overground began a programme to refresh the Class 378 fleet, giving them a livery andmoquette similar to that of the newer Class 710 fleet.[24]
During January 2018, the Class 378 fleet was temporarily withdrawn from service for urgent safety inspections after one unit suffered a failedbrake caliper.[25]
The Class 378 fleet is currently formed of two separate subclasses, DC-only 378/1 and dual-voltage (AC and DC) Class 378/2:
| Class | Operator | Qty. | Year built | Cars | Unit nos. | Routes | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 378/1 | London Overground | 20 | 2009–2010 | 5 | 378135–378154 | Third-rail only. | ||
| 378/2 | 24 | 2008–2010 | 378201–378224 | Dual-voltage units. Originally built as three-carClass 378/0 (378001–378024). | ||||
| 13 | 2010–2011 | 378225–378234,378255–378257 | Dual-voltage units. | |||||
Named units are as follows:
Media related toBritish Rail Class 378 at Wikimedia Commons
| |||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
