British Rail Class 332

The British Rail Class 332 is a type of electric multiple unit train built by CAF and Siemens Mobility. Fourteen units were built for dedicated use on the Heathrow Express between London Paddington and Heathrow Airport.

British Rail Class 332
332005 at London Paddington in January 2007
Interior of a refurbished standard class carriage
In service19 January 1998 - 28 December 2020
ManufacturerSiemens Mobility and CAF
Built atZaragoza, Spain
Constructed1997 - 1998
Refurbished2012 - 2013
Number built14 sets
Number scrapped5 sets
Formation4–5 cars
Capacity175 seats (4 cars)
239 seats (5 cars)
Operator(s)Heathrow Express
Specifications
Car lengthDriver cab (excluding couplers) at two ends: 22.95 m (75 ft 4 in)
Other cars (excluding couplers): 22.9 m (75 ft 2 in)
Width2.733 m (8 ft 11.6 in)
Height3.774 m (12 ft 4.6 in) (excluding pantograph)
Maximum speed100 mph (161 km/h)
Weight188.4 t (185.4 long tons; 207.7 short tons) (4 cars)
233.6 t (229.9 long tons; 257.5 short tons) (5 cars)
Power output1.4 MW (1,900 hp)
Electric system(s)25 kV 50 Hz AC Overhead
Braking system(s)Regenerative and air brake
Safety system(s)AWS, ATP
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge

History

Following BAA being granted rights to operate services from London Paddington to Heathrow Airport, 14 trains were ordered in July 1994 from Siemens.[1][2][3] They were built by CAF in Zaragoza, Spain. The first two were tested at the Velim railway test circuit and in Germany, while the next two were sent directly to England arriving at Old Oak Common TMD in March 1997.[4][5][6]

The units have Automatic Train Protection (ATP) equipment, one of the few fleets in the UK to do so. This is largely as a consequence of the Paddington-Heathrow route being mainly on the Great Western Main Line, which was equipped with ATP in the early 1990s as part of a trial of the system by British Rail.[7] The units are not fitted with Train Protection & Warning System (TPWS). A derogation was issued in 2001, which exempted the class from mandatory TPWS installation, due the fitment of the ATP.[7] Given the lack of TPWS, the trains are not compatible for use elsewhere on the rail network.[8]

The units are maintained at a purpose-built depot at Old Oak Common.[9] Following withdrawal of the units, the depot will be demolished as part of the construction of High Speed 2 and Old Oak Common station.[10][11]

The first entered service on 19 January 1998 when services commenced from London Paddington to Heathrow Junction.[12][13] They operated through to Terminal 4 from May 1998 until March 2008, when the Heathrow Express was diverted to serve Terminal 5.[14]

The original order was for twelve three-car and two four-car sets.[15] This was later altered to fourteen four-car sets. In 2002, five sets had a fifth carriage added.[16][17][18]

On 29 February 2016, the entire class was withdrawn after a structural defect was found on the underside of a carriage.[19] They were replaced by Heathrow Connect Class 360s.[20] The Class 332 trains were gradually returned to service from 11 March 2016 onwards.[21]

Replacement

In March 2018, it was announced that operation of the Heathrow Express was to be contracted to Great Western Railway.[22][23][24] However in September 2019, Heathrow Express announced that Heathrow Airport Holdings were to continue owning Heathrow Express until at least 2028 and that instead, GWR would manage the introduction of Class 387s to replace the Class 332s.[10]

The first unit, 332014 was sent to be scrapped in November 2020 at Sims Metal, Peterborough.[25] The remaining Class 332 units were all withdrawn by 28 December 2020, which allowed the first of the replacement Class 387 fleet to enter service on 29 December 2020.[26][27]

Fleet details
Class Status Amount Built Cars per Set Unit nos.
Class 332 Stored 5 1997-1998 4 332001, 004, 010, 011, 013
4 5 332006-009
Scrapped 4 4 332002, 003, 012, 014[28]
1 5 332005[28]

See also

References
  1. BAA takes total control of Heathrow Express Rail Privatisation News issue 35 25 July 1996 page 3
  2. New Heathrow Express Class 332 EMU ordered Rail issue 233 17 August 1994 page 9
  3. Siemens scoops Heathrow Express order Railway Gazette International September 1994 page 557
  4. Heathrow Express completes commissioning trials Railway Gazette International January 1997 page 27
  5. First Heathrow Express unit arrives in Britain from Spain Rail issue 303 23 April 1997 page 10
  6. Heathrow Express unveils the Class 332 The Railway Magazine issue 1156 August 1997 page 63
  7. Certificate of Derogation from a Railway Group Standard 01/109/DGN re-issued 25/02/2008 Archived 27 October 2014 at the Wayback Machine - RSSB. Retrieved 27 October 2014
  8. Devereux, Nigel (1 May 2018). "Class 332s to become surplus when GWR operates Heathrow Express". The Railway Magazine. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  9. Class 332 & 360/2 - Heathrow Express Archived 15 February 2011 at the Wayback Machine - Siemens Mobility. Retrieved 25 February 2012.
  10. "Heathrow Express service confirmed to at least 2028". www.heathrowexpress.com. Archived from the original on 6 December 2020. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  11. Sholli, Sam (15 July 2019). "Heathrow receives £9M payout for HS2 work at Old Oak". New Civil Engineer. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  12. Heathrow Express starts running public services to Airport Junction Rail issue 323 28 January 1998 page 6
  13. World Update Railway Age March 1998 page 24
  14. Heathrow Express starts direct service to airport Rail issue 333 17 June 1998 page 17
  15. Heathrow Express stock ordered The Railway Magazine issue 1122 October 1994 page 11
  16. Heathrow Express orders five more Class 332 trailers Rail issue 410 30 May 2001 page 11
  17. Heathrow Express orders more trains The Railway Magazine issue 1205 September 2001 page 13
  18. Heathrow Express prepares for extra coaches for its Class 332s Rail issue 447 30 October 2002 page 11
  19. "Heathrow Express fleet recalled". Global Rail News. Rail Media. 29 February 2016. Archived from the original on 1 March 2016. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
  20. "UPDATE: Heathrow Express fleet out of service for foreseeable future". Global Rail News. Rail Media. 2 March 2016. Archived from the original on 2 March 2016. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
  21. "Heathrow Express and Heathrow Connect fleet update". Heathrow Express. 11 March 2016. Archived from the original on 24 March 2016. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
  22. GWR to manage Heathrow Express operations Archived 22 August 2018 at the Wayback Machine International Railway Journal 28 March 2018
  23. GWR to manage Heathrow Express service Archived 1 April 2018 at the Wayback Machine Railway Gazette International 28 March 2018
  24. All change as Great Western takes over HEX The Railway Magazine issue 1413 December 2018 page 11
  25. First of the Heathrow Class 332s is scrapped Rail issue 920 16 December 2020 page 27
  26. "Today we're saying farewell to our Class 332 trains". Heathrow Express. Archived from the original on 28 December 2020. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  27. "Today's the day we're rolling out our new Heathrow Express fleet!". Heathrow Express.
  28. Milner, Chris, ed. (January 2021). "First 'Heathrow Express' units sent for scrap". The Railway Magazine. Vol. 167 no. 1438. Horncastle: Mortons Media Group. p. 9. ISSN 0033-8923.

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