British Rail Class 180
The British Rail Class 180 is a class of 14 diesel-hydraulic multiple-unit passenger trains built by Alstom at Washwood Heath in 2000/01 for First Great Western. They are part of the Coradia 1000 family, along with the Class 175. After recurring technical problems with the trains, FGW handed all the units back to leasing company Angel Trains in 2008/09. After a period in store, they were leased to Hull Trains and Grand Central, while the remaining five units returned to service with FGW. The latter five have since moved to Grand Central, whilst the four Hull Trains units have been transferred to East Midlands Railway.
Background
As a franchise agreement, FGW was required to increase the frequency of its express service from to South Wales to half hourly. This required extra high-speed rolling stock. FGW ordered fourteen 125 mph diesel multiple units from Alstom, similar to the 26 Class 175s then under construction for sister company First North Western.The first unit was unveiled on 18 April 2000. However, following a string of problems, full main line testing did not begin until December 2000, six months after it was intended to start. Despite this, Alstom claimed that the trains could enter service in time for the May 2001 timetable change. This date too was missed, and the trains did not go into squadron service until the next timetable change, in December 2001.
Description
There are 14 Class 180 sets, numbered 180101-180114. There are five cars per unit: twoStandard Class Driving Motors, two Standard Class Intermediate Motors and a First Class Intermediate Motor. All coaches are equipped with a Cummins QSK19 diesel engine, which develops at 2,100 rpm.
The trains feature a hydraulic transmission, supplied by Voith which is a three-speed type, with integral hydrodynamic braking. These trains are the only diesel-powered high-speed trains in the world with diesel-hydraulic transmission. One bogie per coach is powered, with both axles driven. Total vehicle weight is 278 tonnes. The units feature Scharfenberg couplers.
Operations
Current operators
Grand Central
initially planned to operate a pair of Class 180s on its London King's Cross to Sunderland service, having secured the rights to a fourth daily service in each direction. The two 180s joined the company's three High Speed Trains. Grand Central had initially announced that the two units would run as a ten-car train but later said that they would run separately, for extra flexibility.The Grand Central Class 180s were initially given the fleet name Zephyr, the Adelante name was later reintroduced. Maintenance is carried out at Heaton TMD and Crofton TMD.
Grand Central leased three additional units for its new service to. Originally the service was to be operated under the brand name Grand Northern, as part of parent company Grand Union, but is operating as Grand Central so that units can be interchanged between the two routes.
The units have been modified by Railcare and fitted with wi-fi and at-seat sockets. One of the initial two units, 180112, was named James Herriot at a ceremony at and was the first to carry Grand Central's new logo and orange stripe livery. They entered service in September 2009, with the Bradford service starting on 23 May 2010.
Other sets named were 180107 as Hart of the North in October 2010 following a competition in the Hartlepool Mail, 180105 as The Yorkshire Artist, by the artist Ashley Jackson in October 2011 and 180108 as William Shakespeare in April 2018.
Since July 2016, Northern have operated a peak morning working between Halifax and Leeds via Bradford with a Class 180 set hired from Grand Central. This is to release other DMUs to cover the reduction in the number of units available to hire from TransPennine Express.
In 2017 Grand Central received the remaining five 180s being operated by Great Western Railway, to allow for service expansion and replace its HSTs. In 2018 an overhaul programme for all 10 sets commenced at Arriva TrainCare, Eastleigh.
East Midlands Railway
In January 2020, the first of four former Hull Trains Class 180s arrived at Derby Etches Park. They are scheduled to enter service with East Midlands Railway in December 2020. They are to be replaced with Class 810s in 2022.Former operators
Great Western Railway
The Class 180 fleet, given the brand name Adelante by First Great Western, was originally deployed on services linking to via and to via. They also operated on occasions to Paignton.The class suffered a number of technical problems, including problems with the doors closing and locking quickly. This resulted in their replacement on most of the above services with HSTs displaced from Midland Mainline by Class 222s. The Class 180s then operated express commuter services from London Paddington to, Worcester, , and.
The reliability problems experienced by FGW, combined with increased passenger numbers, eventually led the operator to lose patience with the class and it acquired extra refurbished HST sets towards the end of 2007 as replacements on the express commuter services. Most of the Class 180 fleet were returned to the leasing company Angel Trains between 2007 and 2009.
Although FGW had planned to return the entire fleet in December 2007, it decided to retain three units until it had received a cascaded HST from National Express East Coast. A pair of the units operated in multiple on an early-morning Oxford to London commuter service, before being divided to work independently the rest of the day on the Cotswold Line from Paddington to Worcester and Hereford. The final FGW 180 ran on 30 March 2009. The remainder were placed in store from December 2007 at Oxley TRSMD with the last withdrawn in March 2009.
Five Class 180 units were leased by East Coast in 2009. After the new services they were to operate were abandoned, all were back to FGW to increase capacity on Thames Valley services, three have operated for Northern Rail in the interim. They were introduced on the Cotswold Line, allowing and Turbo DMUs to be released for Thames Valley services.
The first refurbished Class 180 entered passenger service on 28 May 2012. GWR's Class 180s were maintained at Old Oak Common TMD. After being replaced by Class 800s, all five were transferred to Grand Central in 2017. Adelantes at Blackpool North in October 2009
Northern Rail
leased three Class 180 units with the sets entering service in December 2008 operating from and to and, until the end of 2012. These were sub-leased by East Coast until it could obtain more long-term rolling stock. The three were to have transferred to East Coast after the 18-month contract finished in November 2010. However East Coast changed its plans and no longer required them, so they remained with Northern until December 2011 when Northern took delivery of ex London Midland Class 150s. The last was withdrawn on 2 December 2011. After being refurbished, all three returned to service with First Great Western.Hull Trains
leased two Class 180 units to replace a damaged Class 222 Pioneer, which operated with the remaining Class 222s between and Hull. In 2008 Hull Trains released its Class 222s to East Midlands Trains and replaced them with Class 180s. The acquired units underwent an internal refit including the installation of laptop sockets and new coffee machines. The first entered service in late January 2009. The refurbishment program was completed in early 2012. Until 2018 Hull Trains' Class 180s were maintained alongside the FGW fleet at Old Oak Common TMD in London. After FGW ceased operating Class 180s, they were maintained by Bombardier Transportation at Crofton TMD.The Hull Trains fleet was replaced by Class 802s in early 2020. These then moved to East Midlands Railway to replace HSTs inherited from East Midlands Trains, and are scheduled to enter service in December 2020.