| British Rail Class 387 Electrostar | |
|---|---|
 Great Western Railway Class 387 unit atDidcot Parkway | |
 The interior of a GWR Class 387 unit | |
| In service | 8 December 2014 – present |
| Manufacturer | Bombardier Transportation |
| Built at | Derby Litchurch Lane Works |
| Family name | Electrostar |
| Replaced | |
| Number built | 107 |
| Successor | |
| Formation | |
| Operators | |
| Specifications | |
| Car length | 20.39 metres (66 ft 11 in) |
| Width | 2.80 metres (9 ft 2 in) |
| Height | 3.77 metres (12 ft 4 in) |
| Maximum speed | 110 mph (177 km/h) |
| Traction system | IGBT-VVVF(Bombardier MITRAC DR1000) |
| Power output | 1.68 MW (2,250 hp) |
| Electric system(s) | |
| Current collection |
|
| UIC classification | 2′Bo′+2′Bo′+2′2′+Bo′2′ |
| Safety system(s) | |
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)standard gauge |
TheBritish Rail Class 387Electrostar is a type ofelectric multiple unit passenger train built byBombardier Transportation. They are part of theElectrostar family of trains. A total of 107 units were built, with the first train entering service withThameslink in December 2014. The trains are currently in service withGatwick Express,Great Northern,Great Western Railway,Heathrow Express andSouthern. The Class 387 is a variation of theClass 379 with dual-voltage capability which allows units to run on 750 V DCthird rail, as well as use 25 kV ACOLE. The class were the final rolling stock orders from the Bombardier Electrostar family with 2,805 vehicles built over 18 years between 1999 and 2017.[3]
The first Class 387/1s were ordered for theThameslink route, which enabled the existingClass 319 units to be transferred toNorthern Rail for use on the newly electrifiedManchester Victoria toLiverpool viaNewton-le-Willows route.[4][5]
On behalf of theDepartment for Transport,Southern issued anOJEU notice in December 2012,[4] with proposals received in January 2013. Theinvitation to tender for the fleet was released the following month with final offers being submitted by 18 June 2013. Southern announced it had signed a deal with Bombardier on 30 July 2013 for 29 four-carriage units.[6][7]
In October 2015,Porterbrook placed a speculative order for 80 carriages. Fifty-six were later leased to Great Western Railway and the remaining 24 to c2c as 387/3s.[8][9]
The Class 387/1 fleet is subdivided into a Class 387/1a fleet which has been fitted with the ETCS signalling system for use in the Heathrow Airport railway tunnels[10] (and in along the entire route in future[citation needed]). This subfleet was authorised for use in passenger service under ETCS by the ORR on 14 December 2020.[10]
Govia ordered 27 four-carriage units to replaceClass 442 units on theGatwick Express service.[11] The first units entered service in February 2016.[12][13][14]
In May 2016,c2c announced that it would operate six Class 387 units to add capacity to its network.[15]
As part ofGovia's bid for theThameslink, Southern and Great Northern franchise, 27 four-carriage units were ordered to replaceClass 442 units on theGatwick Express service, using some of the optional 140 extra carriages.[11] The order was announced in November 2014 with the first units on test in July 2015 and they began to enter service on 29 February 2016.[12][13][14]
The deployment was disrupted by unionised drivers refusing to take passengers,[16] claiming that the twelve-coach Class 387 trains are not covered by theirdriver only operation agreement which is limited to ten coaches, and that running them without a conductor would be unsafe. In response to this, Govia applied to the high court to seek an injunction to enable to trains to enter service,[16] and the union ultimately dropped the claim. Prior to entering service with Gatwick Express, several units entered service with Thameslink in response to delays with commissioning theClass 700 units. These then returned to Gatwick Express by the end of summer 2016.[17][18]
In 2021, some units transferred to Great Northern to cover for the withdrawal of theClass 365.[19][20]
As part of the introduction of theClass 379 EMUs onto the Great Northern services, some class 387/1 and 387/3 units have moved toSouthern operating on some Coastway and mainline services, these are also replacingClass 377 EMUs which in turn are being subleased toSouth Eastern. The 387/2s which were leased by Great Northern were transferred over to Southern, which then returned them to Gatwick Express.
The firstGreat Western Railway unit entered service on 5 September 2016 running betweenLondon Paddington andHayes & Harlington in peak hours to relieve congestion on some of the country's most crowded trains.[21][22] In January 2017 GWR began running a half-hourly Paddington to Hayes & Harlington service using pairs of these 387/1s.[21]
On 1 January 2018, following further electrification work, Class 387/1 EMUs began operating suburban services between London Paddington andDidcot Parkway, replacing GWRClass 165 DMUs on these services.[23] Due to electrification being suspended from Didcot Parkway toOxford, the previous Oxford suburban service from London Paddington was cut back to Didcot Parkway to allow electric trains to operate this service and a separate service run by class 165s runs between Didcot Parkway and Oxford. Oxford is still served by the fast services from London Paddington.[24]
In January 2019, Class 387/1 EMUs began operating betweenReading andNewbury after electrification works on theReading–Taunton line were completed. In December 2019,Class 345s took over most of the GWR stopping services between Reading and Paddington. This displaced 12 Class 387s which are now used onHeathrow Express services betweenHeathrow Terminal 5 and Paddington.
Since the December 2021 timetable change, GWR use Class 387s on daily services on the full length of the electrified sections of theGreat Western Main Line and theSouth Wales Main Line from Paddington toCardiff, as well as on special services when events are held at theMillennium Stadium.[citation needed]
From late 2016, 29 of the Class 387/1s operating on Thameslink were displaced by the delivery ofClass 700s, and were transferred to Great Northern. They operate mostly on theKings Cross–Cambridge–King's Lynn route, though they can also be seen on other services. These units were delivered in a white livery, with Southern green doors and Southern moquette.
In 2018, 387105 was transferred to Gatwick Express services, but was not re-liveried into Gatwick Express red.[25] It was transferred back to Great Northern in May 2020, regaining its original branding.[26]
In March 2021, it was announced that Great Northern would be withdrawing the remainingClass 365s from service in May 2021, with Class 387/2s from the Gatwick Express brand used to replace them.[19][20]
In mid-July 2022, it received the 6 displaced Class 387/3 from c2c,[27] to allow for some Class 387/2s to be sent back to Southern.
In March 2018,Heathrow Airport Holdings came to an agreement with Great Western Railway to take over the operation of theHeathrow Express service betweenLondon Paddington andHeathrow Airport from August 2018.[28] In September 2019, Heathrow Express confirmed that operation of the service would pass to GWR with ownership remaining with Heathrow Airport Holdings until at least 2028. GWR would provide and maintain the Class 387 units for the service from 2020, with theClass 332 trains withdrawn from service.[29]
Twelve Class 387 units from the GWR fleet were modified to provide a dedicated set of trains for the service including first class accommodation, high speed Wi-Fi, additional luggage racks and on-board entertainment.[30][31] The Heathrow Express sub-fleet is designated as Class 387/1a due to their unique fitment of the ETCS signalling system for use in the Heathrow Airport railway tunnels.[10]
The first units entered revenue earning service with Heathrow Express on 29 December 2020.[32]
In 2014, theEssex Thameside franchise was awarded to the incumbent operator,National Express (operating asc2c). National Express agreed to order new trains to increase capacity,[33] as the line was suffering with overcrowding.[34][35]
The firstc2c Class 387/3 was delivered in October 2016 and entered service on 14 November 2016.[36][37] These trains were built primarily as stock units; they were leased out toc2c from Porterbrook.[8][9]
The units operated fast limited stop services fromShoeburyness toLondon Fenchurch Street as 12 car sets during peak hours; following the impacts of theCOVID-19 pandemic, the units were temporarily stored at Shoeburyness Carriage Sidings in March 2020. Later in 2020, they were reinstated for use on services in the c2c network, again working peak hour limited stop services between Fenchurch Street and Shoeburyness.
In May 2021, c2c transferred three units toGreat Western Railway owing to their fleet ofClass 800s requiring repairs due to bogie defects.
c2c and Great Western Railway withdrew their 387/3 fleets in June 2022.[27] They transferred toGreat Northern in mid-July 2022 and have now received Great Northern branding.
The first Thameslink unit entered service in December 2014 with all in service by July 2015.[38] They were operated byThameslink on services betweenBedford andBrighton.
During Summer 2016, several of Gatwick Express Class 387/2 units entered service with Thameslink prior to introduction on Gatwick Express services due to the delay of theClass 700 units, although these returned to service with Gatwick Express after a few months.
The Class 387/1s have since been transferred toGreat Northern working services fromKings Cross toKing's Lynn viaCambridge, as well as peak time and weekend services toPeterborough.
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| Class | Operator | Number built | Year built | Cars per unit | Unit numbers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 387/1 | Great Northern | 22 | 2014–2017[a] | 4 | 387101–387118, 387120, 387122, 387127, 387172 |
| Heathrow Express | 12 | 387130–387141 | |||
| Great Western Railway | 30[41] | 387142–387171 | |||
| Southern | 8 | 387119, 387121, 387123, 387126, 387128-387129, 387173-387174[42][43][44] | |||
| 387/2 | Gatwick Express | 22 | 2015–2016 | 387202–387204, 387209–387227 | |
| Southern | 5 | 387201, 387205–387208[45][46] | |||
| 387/3 | Great Northern[27] | 1 | 2016 | 387304[44] | |
| Southern | 6 | 387301-387303, 387305-387306[43][44] |
The following units have received names:
The operator said it would make £160m of investment as part of the deal, including a fleet of new trains.
