| British Rail Class 323 | |
|---|---|
 Northern Trains Class 323 atKearsley in October 2025 | |
 Interior of a refurbishedArriva Rail North Class 323 unit | |
| Stock type | Electric multiple unit |
| In service | 7 February 1994 – present |
| Manufacturer |
|
| Orderno. | |
| Built at | |
| Replaced | |
| Constructed | 1992–1995[5] |
| Refurbished |
|
| Number built | 43[8] |
| Number in service | 34 |
| Successor |
|
| Formation | 3 cars per unit:DMS-TS-DMS[11] |
| Diagram |
|
| Fleet numbers | 323201–323243[11] |
| Capacity |
|
| Owners | Porterbrook |
| Operators | |
| Depots |
|
| Lines served | |
| Specifications | |
| Car body construction | Aluminium alloy[3] |
| Train length | 70.18 m (230 ft 3 in) |
| Car length |
|
| 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) |
| Wheel diameter | 840-775 mm[17] |
| Wheelbase | Over bogie centres:16.000 m (52 ft 5.9 in) |
| Maximum speed | 90 mph (145 km/h)[11] |
| Axle load | Route Availability 3[18] |
| Traction system | |
| Traction motors | 8 × Holec DMKT 52/24[8][e] |
| Power output | 1,168 kW (1,566 hp) total[18] |
| Gear ratio | 84 : 19[17] |
| Acceleration | 0.77m/s2[17] |
| Deceleration | Service: 0.71m/s2[17] Emergency: 1.17m/s2[17] |
| Electric system(s) | 25 kV 50 Hz ACOverhead |
| Current collection | Pantograph(Brecknell Willis)[11] |
| UIC classification | Bo′Bo′+2′2′+Bo′Bo′ |
| Bogies | |
| Braking system(s) | WestcodeEP (disc)andregenerative[11][g] |
| Safety system(s) | |
| Coupling system | Tightlock |
| Multiple working | Within class (max. 4 units)[11] |
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)standard gauge |
| Notes/references | |
| Sourced fromWebber 1999 unless otherwise noted. | |
TheBritish Rail Class 323 is a class ofelectric multiple unit (EMU) passenger train built byHunslet Transportation Projects and Holec. All 43 units were built from 1992 through to 1995,[5] although mockups and prototypes were built and tested in 1990 and 1991.[24]
Entering service in 1994, the 323s were among the last trains to enter service withBritish Rail before itsprivatisation in the mid-1990s. The units were designed to operate on inner-suburban commuter lines in and aroundBirmingham andManchester with swift acceleration and high reliability.
The units are known for their rapid acceleration, being the fastest-accelerating trains on the UK rail network.[25] Of the 43 units built, 34 are in service withNorthern Trains, with the remaining 9 being in storage.
The units are expected to continue in service until the early 2030s and will eventually be replaced by new-buildClass 382 units.
In 1990, theRegional Railways sector ofBritish Rail tendered an order for new EMUs, both to replace older electric units aroundBirmingham andManchester, and to work services on the newly electrified BirminghamCross-City Line. In June 1990, the contract was awarded toHunslet Transportation Projects of Birmingham, a new company set up by a team of engineers and managers who had leftMetro-Cammell, a Birmingham-based train manufacturer at the time. It won the contract in competition with six other European train builders. The trains were designed in Birmingham, but built and fitted out at theHunslet works inLeeds, with the traction motors supplied by the Dutch firm Holec.[25][26]
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 theClass 304 andClass 310); ultimately a total of 43 three-car units were actually built.[26] When the electrification of the Leeds/Bradford – Skipton/IlkleyAiredale/Wharfedale Lines was confirmed in the early 1990s,Regional Railways andWest Yorkshire PTE applied to the government for fourteen units to add to those already on order.[27] At the time, government spending on the railways was restricted due to the impendingprivatisation of British Rail and eventually, when funding was not forthcoming, the order was cancelled. Instead 21 second-handClass 308 units fromNetwork SouthEast were used until newClass 333 EMUs entered service in 2001.[28]
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 agate turn-off thyristor-basedinverter as part of the traction control circuitry that drives the three-phase AC motors, a common setup in the early-to-mid 1990s which is notably also present in theNetworker family of EMUs. The "gear-changing" effect is produced by the simplification of thePWM pulse pattern so as not to overload the thyristor, which switches at lower frequencies than later implementations of thevariable-frequency drive and hence produces a lower-pitched sound.[29]
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.[30] A mixed fleet of elderly diesels which the 323s had been intended to replace, as well as some elderlyClass 304,Class 308 andClass 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.[26][31]
As part of theprivatisation of British Rail, all 43 were sold toPorterbrook in 1994 and allocated to theCentral Trains andNorth West Regional Railways shadow franchises.[32][33]
.jpg)
.jpg)
Central Trains inherited from British Rail a fleet of 26 units in two blocks; 323201–323222 and 323240–323243. In November 2007, these passed toLondon 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.
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-RateSanders, sponsored by theRail Safety and Standards Board. The test demonstrated that the new sanding equipment significantly improved braking performance inlow-adhesion conditions.[34]
To celebrate 30 years service in the West Midlands unit 323221 was repainted into theCentro livery.[35]
To celebrate 30 years of operation ofSoho Depot where the West Midlands fleet is maintained, the West Midlands fleet hadSoho LMD 1993 Cross City Line Diamond logos applied to them.[36]
A farewell tour was held on 29 September 2024 to mark the withdrawal from service of the West Midlands fleet. The West Midlands fleet was withdrawn from service the same day.[10]
The West Midlands Class 323 fleet was replaced by theClass 730.[10]
 | This sectionneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.(July 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
The units were used to replace older stock of ClassesClass 304 andClass 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 becameFirst North Western in 1998 and its operations were taken over byNorthern Rail in 2004. All passed toArriva Rail North with the franchise in April 2016, and then to current operatorNorthern Trains on 1 March 2020.
The 323s were planned to leaveArriva Rail North in December 2018 when replaced by theClass 331 fleet,[37][38][39][page needed] but this did not occur. Instead, the Class 323 fleet was retained – and was enlarged with a cascade of 17 units fromWest Midlands Trains taking place between October 2023 and July 2024[40][41]
The 17 West Midlands Railway units to be transferred to Northern once the Class 730s enter service, started to receive "digital modifications" in 2023.[42] The first of these trains (323208) was transferred to Northern in October 2023.[43]
The fleet is currently maintained atAllerton TMD, with units terminating in Manchester stabled at Stockport Edgeley carriage sidings where they receive overnight cleaning as well asArdwick TMD operated by Siemens, where they are washed alongside theClass 185TransPennine Express fleet. The 323s were formerly maintained atLongsight Electric TMD.[8]
In the future the fleet will be stabled and maintained atManchester International Depot.[14]
In late 2025 unit number 323239 was re-livered into a promotional yellow "Bee Network" livery, this was done to mark one year until rail was to be integrated into the Bee Network and to advertise tap and go introduced on the trains.[44]
As part of a refurbishment in the early 2000s, the Class 323 fleet received guard's door control panels in the trailer vehicles.[25]
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,[6] and the firstArriva Rail North unit (323234) returning on 22 October 2019. The rest of fleet was refurbished to the same standard over the following years.[45]
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.[46] 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.[7]
Many of these changes were a requirement of thePRM (Persons with Restricted Mobility) TSI, with which all UK trains have to be compliant.[47]
On 18 December 2008, unit 323231 collided with a Nissan 4x4 which had rolled down the embankment from a delivery company car park atNorth Rode,Congleton.[48] The unit spent 16 months out of service to undergo repair as a result.
On 17 December 2019, unit 323234 derailed in theArdwick train depot. The train rolled approximately 4 feet (1.2 m) away from the railhead and where it had ended up. No one was hurt in the accident as it occurred at a low speed.[49]
| Class | Operator | Qty. | Year built | Cars per unit | Unit nos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 323 | Northern Trains | 34 | 1992–1995 | 3 | 323202–323203, 323205–323210, 323212–323213, 323217–323220, 323223–323239, 323241–323243[40][50][51] |
| Stored | 9 | 323201, 323204, 323211, 323214–323216, 323221–323222, 323240[52] |
The following units received names, all of which have since been de-named:
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".[64]
At the 2024 Gold Spanner awards, the Northern Trains Class 323 fleet won a Silver Spanner award.[65]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)