Arriva Trains Wales 158827 at Birmingham New Street
Operating one of the longest Class 158 journeys is Arriva Trains Wales' 158827 and a fellow classmate, operating the 1G25 Aberystwyth to Birmingham International.
The Class 158's have become one of the most important part of the semi-fast and inter-regional services of the UK passenger network, operating a variety of local and intercity trains pretty much across the entire length and breadth of the country.
The Class 158's were conceived to replace many of the elderly heritage DMU's from the 1950's that continued to soldier on into the 1980's. Desperate to improve the somewhat archaic reputation of British Rail regional passenger sector Regional Railways, the company began design of units that had a more express-passenger design rather than the previous Class 150 based units which were built largely for the purpose of high capacity suburban use. With a futuristic design, lower density intercity style seating, and being powered by Cummins NTA855R1, these units were the fastest of BREL (British Rail Engineering Limited) units of the 1980's, with a top speed of 90mph.
In all, 182 sets were constructed between 1989 and 1992, with two variations created for differing regional purposes. The first 165 sets were built as two-car units for a majority of the UK network, whilst 17 were built as three-car sets primarily for the higher density West Yorkshire networks around Leeds, York and Sheffield. Distribution of these units was widespread across the entire UK network apart from the South East. Scotrail were the first to receive their units on express services to the Highlands and to replace Push/Pull Loco-hauled services between Glasgow and Edinburgh. Other locations included services across Wales and the South West of England under the brand Alphaline, as well as working on Trans-Pennine operations between Blackpool, Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, York and Hull. Some units were also hired out by InterCity to operate shorter distance cross country services in the North West of England and on the Southern Region around Portsmouth.
So popular was the design of these units, that Regional Railways ordered too many, and thus had many of the later 3-car sets left as spares. These were sold to Network SouthEast and used on express services between London Waterloo and Exeter to replace ageing loco-hauled stock from 1994. State Railway of Thailand also took an interest, ordering a set of 12 three-car units in 1990 to operate express services in Southeast Asia, these units differing in design with metre-gauge, differing end gangways, additional air conditioning and hinged doors instead of automatic plug-doors. These units continue to operate today, and have recently undergone a major refurbishment in 2011.
Upon privatisation, the fleet has remained largely where it was originally, but with some changes to the fleets and their usage. The class is still the mainstay of long-distance operations in Scotland under Scotrail, whilst Arriva Trains Wales works these units around Wales and the Midlands. First Great Western employ these units on operations between Cardiff, Bristol and Portsmouth, converting several sets into 3-cars by splitting some sets into centre carriages. First Trans-Pennine Express replaced their Class 158's with Class 185 Desiro units in 2006, sending their fleet south to Southwest Trains where 30 sets were converted to Class 159's. Northern Rail continue to operate sets on their Trans-Pennine services between Blackpool and York, as well as on the South and West Yorkshire passenger network. Probably the most lengthy uses of these trains is with East Midlands Trains, who work the sets between Liverpool and Norwich via Manchester and Peterborough, as well as on a variety of routes around Nottingham and Lincoln.
All units are today still in use, and provide an important part of the UK railway network, maintaining a busy but useful life.
Arriva Trains Wales 158827 at Birmingham New Street
Operating one of the longest Class 158 journeys is Arriva Trains Wales' 158827 and a fellow classmate, operating the 1G25 Aberystwyth to Birmingham International.
The Class 158's have become one of the most important part of the semi-fast and inter-regional services of the UK passenger network, operating a variety of local and intercity trains pretty much across the entire length and breadth of the country.
The Class 158's were conceived to replace many of the elderly heritage DMU's from the 1950's that continued to soldier on into the 1980's. Desperate to improve the somewhat archaic reputation of British Rail regional passenger sector Regional Railways, the company began design of units that had a more express-passenger design rather than the previous Class 150 based units which were built largely for the purpose of high capacity suburban use. With a futuristic design, lower density intercity style seating, and being powered by Cummins NTA855R1, these units were the fastest of BREL (British Rail Engineering Limited) units of the 1980's, with a top speed of 90mph.
In all, 182 sets were constructed between 1989 and 1992, with two variations created for differing regional purposes. The first 165 sets were built as two-car units for a majority of the UK network, whilst 17 were built as three-car sets primarily for the higher density West Yorkshire networks around Leeds, York and Sheffield. Distribution of these units was widespread across the entire UK network apart from the South East. Scotrail were the first to receive their units on express services to the Highlands and to replace Push/Pull Loco-hauled services between Glasgow and Edinburgh. Other locations included services across Wales and the South West of England under the brand Alphaline, as well as working on Trans-Pennine operations between Blackpool, Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, York and Hull. Some units were also hired out by InterCity to operate shorter distance cross country services in the North West of England and on the Southern Region around Portsmouth.
So popular was the design of these units, that Regional Railways ordered too many, and thus had many of the later 3-car sets left as spares. These were sold to Network SouthEast and used on express services between London Waterloo and Exeter to replace ageing loco-hauled stock from 1994. State Railway of Thailand also took an interest, ordering a set of 12 three-car units in 1990 to operate express services in Southeast Asia, these units differing in design with metre-gauge, differing end gangways, additional air conditioning and hinged doors instead of automatic plug-doors. These units continue to operate today, and have recently undergone a major refurbishment in 2011.
Upon privatisation, the fleet has remained largely where it was originally, but with some changes to the fleets and their usage. The class is still the mainstay of long-distance operations in Scotland under Scotrail, whilst Arriva Trains Wales works these units around Wales and the Midlands. First Great Western employ these units on operations between Cardiff, Bristol and Portsmouth, converting several sets into 3-cars by splitting some sets into centre carriages. First Trans-Pennine Express replaced their Class 158's with Class 185 Desiro units in 2006, sending their fleet south to Southwest Trains where 30 sets were converted to Class 159's. Northern Rail continue to operate sets on their Trans-Pennine services between Blackpool and York, as well as on the South and West Yorkshire passenger network. Probably the most lengthy uses of these trains is with East Midlands Trains, who work the sets between Liverpool and Norwich via Manchester and Peterborough, as well as on a variety of routes around Nottingham and Lincoln.
All units are today still in use, and provide an important part of the UK railway network, maintaining a busy but useful life.