| British Rail Class 315 | |
|---|---|
 TfL Rail Class 315 atForest Gate in September 2015 | |
 The refreshed interior of a TfL Rail Class 315 | |
| In service | 1980 – 9 December 2022 |
| Manufacturer | British Rail Engineering Limited |
| Built at | Holgate Road Works,York |
| Family name | BREL 1972 |
| Replaced | |
| Constructed | 1980–1981 |
| Refurbished |
|
| Number built | 61[2] |
| Number preserved | 1 |
| Number scrapped | 60 |
| Successor | |
| Formation | |
| Diagram |
|
| Fleet numbers | 315801–315861 |
| Capacity |
|
| Owners | Eversholt Rail Group |
| Operators | |
| Specifications | |
| Car body construction | Steel underframe withaluminium bodyand roof |
| Car length |
|
| Width | 2.820 m (9 ft 3.0 in) |
| Height | 3.582 m (11 ft 9.0 in) |
| Floor height | 1.156 m (3 ft 9.5 in) |
| Doors | Double-leaf pocket sliding,each 1.288 m (4 ft 2.7 in) wide(2 per side per car) |
| Wheelbase |
|
| Maximum speed | 75 mph (121 km/h) |
| Weight |
|
| Traction motors | |
| Power output | 660 kW (880 hp) |
| Acceleration | 0.75 m/s2 (2.5 ft/s2)[3] |
| HVAC | Ducted warm air |
| Electric system(s) | 25 kV 50 Hz ACoverhead |
| Current collection | Pantograph |
| UIC classification | Bo′Bo′+2′2′+2′2′+Bo′Bo′ |
| Bogies | BREL BX1 |
| Minimum turning radius | 70.4 m (231 ft 0 in) |
| Braking system(s) | Electro-pneumatic (disc) |
| Safety system(s) | |
| Coupling system | Tightlock[4] |
| Multiple working | Within class |
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)standard gauge |
| Notes/references | |
| Specifications as at November 1987[5] except where otherwise noted. | |
TheBritish Rail Class 315 is a class ofalternating current (AC)electric multiple unit (EMU) trains that were built byBritish Rail Engineering Limited atHolgate Road Carriage Works inYork between 1980 and 1981 to replace theClass 306 units. It was a variant of unit derived fromBritish Rail's1971 prototype suburban EMU design which, as the BREL 1972 family, eventually encompassed 755 vehicles across Classes313,314, 315,507 and508.[6] Revenue services with Class 315 units commenced in 1980 and continued until 9 December 2022.[2][7]
Each Class 315 unit is formed of four vehicles;DMSO-PTSO-TSO-DMSO.[5] Up to three units can be used together in service for a maximum 12-car formation.
Each DMSO vehicle carries fourDCtraction motors, each of 82 kW (110 hp) for a total power output of 660 kW (880 hp) per unit.[5] The order included an element of dual-sourcing – 41 units (315801–315841) were fitted with electrical equipment fromBrush Traction, while equipment for the remaining 20 units (315842–315861) was provided by theGeneral Electric Company (GEC). The traction motors are interchangeable between equipment providers.[5]
The DMSO vehicles also carry theair compressors and main reservoirs that provide the braking and suspension air supplies.[citation needed] The air supply was originally additionally used to operate the passenger doors, but this system was later replaced by an all-electric one.[citation needed]
The PTSO vehicles carry the main and auxiliarytransformers, auxiliary batteries, the Stone Faiveley AMBR Mk.1pantograph, and the maincircuit breaker, while the TSO vehicles only provide passenger accommodation.
Seating is standard-class only and there are no toilet facilities provided onboard. As-built, each four-car unit had seats for 318 passengers, but this was reduced to 309 plus seven tip-up during a refit in 2012.[8]
Vehicles are numbered in the following ranges:[5]
 | This sectionis missing information about the fleet's operational history with British Rail. Please expand the section to include this information. Further details may exist on thetalk page.(January 2023) |
Following theprivatisation of British Rail, the Class 315s were divided betweenFirst Great Eastern (43 units) andWest Anglia Great Northern (18 units). The leasing companyEversholt Rail Group has owned the entire Class 315 fleet since privatisation.[8]
From April 2004,National Express East Anglia (NXEA) ran the inauguralGreater Anglia franchise, which combined the previous operations of both First Great Eastern and West Anglia Great Northern and thus combined the two Class 315 fleets. The franchise was initially known as 'One' but was rebranded National Express East Anglia (NXEA) in February 2008.[9]
NXEA contracted withBombardier to refurbish all 61 units at a cost of £60 million. This commenced in mid-2004 with the ex-First Great Eastern examples, and included the full replacement of door operating mechanisms, passenger windows, and seat covers, substantial replacement of floor coverings, and the installation ofCCTV.[10]
The Class 315 fleet transferred to new operatorAbellio Greater Anglia in February 2012. Abellio repainted the trains in its own livery and commissioned Bombardier to refresh the fleet, which included installation of a newpassenger information system withelectronic dot-matrix display screens, installation of bays for two wheelchairs and assistance intercoms for passengers in those areas, and accessibility changes to the handrails and inter-car gangways.[11]
Abellio used the fleet for local services betweenLondon Liverpool Street toShenfield on theGreat Eastern Main Line (the 'Shenfield Metro' service),[11] and between Liverpool Street andCheshunt,Enfield Town, andChingford on theLea Valley Lines.
They were also used on theRomford–Upminster line, alongsideClass 317 units, as well as occasional peak-time services to destinations further from London on the Great Eastern andWest Anglia Main Lines such asBishop's Stortford,Broxbourne,Southminster, andSouthend Victoria.[citation needed]
Initially, the Shenfield Metro and Upminster branch line services used only units 315801–315843 and the Lea Valley Lines only 315844–315861, reflecting the allocations of the former franchises, but they were later operated interchangeably out ofIlford EMU Depot.[citation needed]
17 Class 315s were inherited by London Overground when they took over several of Greater Anglia's services on the Lea Valley and Romford–Upminster lines. They were replaced in 2020 by the Class 710.
The remainder of the fleet was operated byMTR Elizabeth line, who used them for a small number ofElizabeth line services on theGreat Eastern Main Line betweenLondon Liverpool Street andShenfield as a continuation of the previousTfL Rail operation.[12]
A farewell tour for the class organised by the Branch Line Society was announced in October 2022 and took place on 26 November,[13] with the last day of service being 9 December 2022.[7]
In July 2015, TfL confirmed that it would place a £260 million order for 45 units ofClass 710Aventra trains, which would replace London Overground's Class 315. The Aventras would be introduced on the West Anglia routes in 2018, having taken these over from Abellio Greater Anglia in May 2015.[14] The first units on theLea Valley lines entered service on 3 March 2020, after a first attempt on 24 February 2020.[15] They replaced all Class 315s on both theLea Valley lines and theRomford to Upminster branch in October 2020.
TfL Rail also displaced the Class 315s with newClass 345Aventra from August 2017 on some routes.[16] On 20 October 2018, the first retired unit, 315850, was hauled toC F Booth ofRotherham to be scrapped.[17] The last Elizabeth line unit in service was on 9 December 2022, after which all of the units had either been scrapped, stored or preserved.[7]
| This sectionis missing information about the status of the 7 units shown in the table as status TBC. Please expand the section to include this information. Further details may exist on thetalk page.(December 2025) |
| Class | Status | Qty. | Year built | Cars per unit | Unit numbers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 315 | Scrapped | 53 | 1980–1981 | 4 | 315801–315809, 315810-315812, 315814–315817, 315818–315827,315829–315836,315837–315839,315842–315844,315847–315854,315857–315859,315860–315861[18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36] |
| Preserved | 1 | 315856[13][37] | |||
| TBC | 7 | 315813, 315828, 315840–315841, 315845–315846, 315855 |
Individual vehicles are numbered in the ranges as follows:[38]
| DMSO | PTSO | TSO |
|---|---|---|
| 64461–64582 | 71389–71449 | 71281–71341 |
DMSO numbers are sequential within units; thus vehicles 64461 and 64462 were in unit 315801, 64463 and 64464 in 315802, and so on.
The following units have carried names
On 23 July 2021, the Class 315 Preservation Society announced on their website that they had reached an agreement in principle withEversholt Rail Group to acquire a Class 315 for preservation,[40] and the sale was confirmed on 1 December 2022.[41] The society had originally planned on acquiring unit 315820, but following the finalisation of the sale agreement stated that they had instead secured unit 315856.[13][37]
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