British Rail Class 373

The British Rail Class 373 or TGV TMST is a French designed and built electric multiple unit train that is used for Eurostar international high-speed rail services from the United Kingdom to France and Belgium through the Channel Tunnel. Part of the TGV family, it was built with a smaller cross-section to fit the smaller loading gauge in Britain, was originally capable of operating on the UK third rail network, and has extensive fireproofing in case of fire in the tunnel. It is both the second longest—387 metres (1,270 ft)—and second fastest train in regular UK passenger service, operating at speeds of up to 300 kilometres per hour (186 mph).

British Rail Class 373
Eurostar e300
TGV TMST
Refurbished e300 set number 373211 at Gare d'Albertville in 2018
Standard class interior of a refurbished e300 set
In service14 November 1994 – present
ManufacturerGEC-Alsthom, BN
Family nameTGV
Constructed1992 - 1996
Number built31 sets (Three Capitals)
7 sets (North of London)
Number in service11 sets
Number scrapped16 sets
Successor
Formation20 cars (Three Capitals):
DM+MS+TS+TS+TS+TS+TBK+TF+TF+TBF + TBF+TF+TF+TBK+TS+TS+TS+TS+MS+DM
16 cars (North of London):
DM+MS+TS+TS+TS+TBK+TF+TBF + TBF+TF+TBK+TS+TS+TS+MS+DM[1]
Capacity750 seats (Three Capitals - Classic)
758 seats (Three Capitals - Refurbished)
558 seats (North of London)
Operator(s)Eurostar
IZY
Depot(s)Temple Mills
North Pole International (former depot)[2]
Specifications
Car body constructionSteel
Train length387 m (1,269 ft 8 in)
Car length18.7 m (61 ft 4 in) (middle)[3]
22.15 m (72 ft 8 in) (driving)
21.84 m (71 ft 8 in) (powered middle)
Width2.81 m (9 ft 3 in)
Maximum speed300 km/h (186 mph) (Service)
334.7 km/h (208.0 mph) (Record)
Weight752 t (740 long tons; 829 short tons) (Three Capitals, empty)
815 t (802 long tons; 898 short tons) (Three Capitals, loaded)
665 t (654 long tons; 733 short tons) (North of London)
Power output12.2 MW (16,400 hp) (25 kV)
5.7 MW (7,600 hp) (3000 V)[4]
3.4 MW (4,600 hp) (750 V)[4]
Tractive Effort:
410 kN (92,000 lbf) Starting @ 25 kV
350 kN (79,000 lbf) Starting @ 1.5 kV & 750 V
220 kN (49,000 lbf) Continuous @200 km/h (124 mph) & 25 kV[4]
Electric system(s)Overhead lines
25 kV 50 Hz AC
3000 V DC, 1500 V DC
Third rail
750 V DC (no longer in use)
Current collection methodPantograph
Contact shoe (removed)
UIC classificationBo'Bo'+Bo'2'2'2'2'2'2'2'2'2'+2'2'2'2'2'2'2'2'2'Bo'+Bo'Bo'
Bo'Bo'+Bo'2'2'2'2'2'2'2'+2'2'2'2'2'2'2'Bo'+Bo'Bo'
Coupling systemScharfenberg
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge

Known as the TransManche Super Train (TMST) or Cross-channel Super Train before being introduced in 1993, the train is designated Class 373 under the British TOPS classification system and series 373000 TGV in France. It was built by the French company GEC-Alsthom at its factories in La Rochelle (France), Belfort (France) and Washwood Heath (Britain) and by Brugeoise et Nivelles (BN, now part of Bombardier Transportation)[5] in Bruges (Belgium).

Since the introduction of the new Class 374 e320 units from Siemens in 2015, refurbished versions of the Class 373 or TGV-TMST sets have been officially referred to as e300 by Eurostar to distinguish them from the new Velaro fleet.[6]

Types

Two types of Class 373 were constructed:

  • 31 Three Capitals sets consisting of two power cars and 18 passenger coaches, they are 387 metres (1,270 ft) long[7] and have 750 seats: 206 in first class, 544 in standard class.[8] The length of a complete set is dictated by the Channel Tunnel safety regulations; as the distance between consecutive cross passages is 375 metres. This means that, if a Eurostar train has to stop inside the Tunnel in case of fire or other emergencies, it would always stop adjacent to a cross passage.
  • Seven North of London sets (known as "Regional" Eurostars) with 14 coaches and two power cars, they are 312.36 metres (1,024.8 ft) in length and have 558 seats: (114 in first class, 444 in standard class).

The North of London sets were intended to provide Regional Eurostar services from continental Europe to and from north of London, using the West Coast Main Line and the East Coast Main Line, but these services never came to fruition because of long proposed journey times and the proliferation of budget airlines offering cheaper fares; there were also issues with the relatively crude design of British Rail overhead electrified lines and problems with finding suitable routes within Greater London.

Construction

The sets were ordered by the railway companies involved: 16 by SNCF, four by NMBS/SNCB, and 18 by British Rail, of which seven were the North of London sets. Upon the privatisation of British Rail, the BR sets were bought by London and Continental Railways, which named its subsidiary Eurostar (UK) Limited,[9] now managed by SNCF (55%), LCR (40%) and SNCB (5%).[10]

The first Eurostar Class 373 set, 373001/373002, was built at Belfort in 1992.[11] Identified as "PS1" (Pre-Series 1), it was formed of two power cars and seven coaches, and was delivered for test running in January 1993. Its first powered runs were between Strasbourg and Mulhouse, and it was transferred to the UK for third-rail DC tests in June 1993. Full-length pre-series train PS2 was completed in May 1993.

To test the 750 V DC third rail shoes needed on the Southern Region lines in Great Britain, an eight-vehicle locomotive-hauled train was used in early 1994, consisting of a Class 73 locomotive (73205), a converted Class 33 locomotive acting as a Driving Brake Van (33115, reclassified as NZ under TOPS), and six carriages from Class 438 (4TC) multiple units 8007, 8023 and 8028.

An extra power car, numbered 3999, was built as a spare. This was required for a couple of years, when 3999 was renumbered and replaced another power car whilst it underwent rebuilding at Le Landy. It was overhauled and renumbered 3204 in 2016.[12]

Mid-life update

The 22 sets still operating for Eurostar were refurbished in 2004/05 with a new interior, designed by Philippe Starck.[13][14] The grey-yellow look in standard class and the grey-red look in first class were replaced with a more grey-brown scheme in standard and a grey-burnt orange in first class.

In 2008, Eurostar announced that it was beginning the process to institute a mid-life update, which would not include the Class 373 sets being used by SNCF in France.[15] As a part of the update process, the Italian company Pininfarina was contracted to redesign the interiors;[16] the first refurbished Eurostar was not originally due in service until 2012.[17] The refurbishment programme would also include an engine maintenance and a new external livery. Eurostar later planned for the process to be complete by 2014, allowing the fleet to remain in service beyond 2020,[18] but following additional delays the first refurbished train was not completed until July 2015.[19][20]

Maintenance

When Eurostar services ran from London Waterloo International, maintenance was carried out at North Pole Depot in West London, next to the Great Western main line. Since November 2007, Eurostar maintains its Class 373 fleets at Temple Mills Depot in East London; in France the trains are maintained at Le Landy depot in Paris, and Brussels Forest/Vorst depot.

Current operators

Eurostar
Class 373s in the original Eurostar livery lined up at Waterloo International
Main article: Eurostar

Eurostar originally ran services to and from Waterloo International along existing mainline tracks, until it moved to St Pancras International in November 2007. Today Eurostar uses its fleet of Class 373s on routes from London St Pancras International to Paris (Gare Du Nord), Brussels (Midi), Amsterdam and Marseille (St Charles) with a "Ski" service in the winter to Bourg-Saint-Maurice.

In October 2010, Eurostar ordered 10 Class 374 "Eurostar e320" trains from Siemens to run on its existing routes from London to Paris and Brussels as well the newest route to Amsterdam alongside its Class 373 fleet. In 2016, Eurostar announced that it would retain 8 Class 373 once the full fleet of 374s (E320s) were in service; the rest of the Class 373 were either stored or scrapped.[21]

As of 2020, 8 trains had been refurbished with an additional 3 un-refurbished units in service.

IZY

In November 2018, a Class 373 set consisting of 373213 and 373224 was introduced into service by IZY, the low-cost service that runs between Paris and Brussels by Thalys, replacing a TGV Réseau train.[22]

Former operators

Great North Eastern Railway
Regional Eurostar set 373301 + 373302 at London King's Cross in 2004

In May 2000, two Regional Eurostar sets were leased to GNER to operate The White Rose services from London King's Cross to York.[23] From May 2002, the White Rose was altered to operate to Leeds with a third set leased.[24][25] 3301 - 3306 all had GNER livery applied, whereas the rest carried the original Eurostar livery without logos.

The lease expired in December 2005 and they were handed back to Eurostar; they were later used to operate high speed TGV services with SNCF in northern France.[26]

When being used for GNER services, the doors of the first and last carriages were locked out of use at some stations due to the units being too long to stop in the platforms.[27]

Due to restrictions in the power supply on the Hertford Loop Line, only one set was permitted to operate on that route at any one time.[28] They were only allowed to run from King's Cross to York and Leeds because of gauging on the bridges approaching Newcastle. They were not allowed to travel to Bradford Forster Square because the electrical infrastructure beyond Leeds was insufficient. Manually locked selective door opening was used at shorter platforms.

At the following locations on the East Coast Main Line they were only allowed to run at 110 mph (177 km/h), shown by blue "TGV" signs next to the tracks, or required to only use one pantograph:

  • (i) The Down Fast line between 59 m 10ch and 59 m 30ch (Huntingdon North Jn)
  • (ii) between Grantham (105 m 77ch) and Shaftholme Jn (160 m 00ch Down/160m 20ch Up)
  • (iii) between Colton Jn (182 m 75ch) and York.

SNCF
373203/204 working for SNCF passing Étaples - Le Touquet

SNCF leased 3 of Eurostar's "Three Capitals" sets for use on French domestic TGV services (mainly between Paris and Lille). The sets remained in the original Eurostar livery with SNCF branding, and some sets had greyish white or silver front ends. In 2007, SNCF added more Class 373 sets to its fleet by leasing the redundant "North of London" sets from Eurostar. SNCF's lease of the sets was scheduled to last until 2011 with the option to keep the sets running for another two years.[29]

In October 2014, the three "Three Capitals" sets were withdrawn from traffic and stored, having been replaced by TGV Duplex sets. Some have since been scrapped having provided spare parts to other Class 373 sets with remaining sets still stored in Ambérieu, France.

Fleet information
A Thalys PBKA TGV set with 373304/305 at Paris (Gare du Nord)
Eurostar 373 sets at London St Pancras International.
373103/104 passes Wandsworth Road in London.

Each power car has a four-digit number starting with "3" (3xxx). This designates the train as a Mark 3 TGV (Mark 1 being SNCF TGV Sud-Est; and Mark 2 being SNCF TGV Atlantique). The last digit denotes the country of ownership:

  • 3730xx: UK
  • 3731xx: Belgium
  • 3732xx: France
  • 3733xx: "Regional" and "North of London" Eurostar sets
  • 373999: Spare Powercar

Each half-set is numbered separately.

Class No. built Unit number range Cars per half-set[e 1] Description Operators Unit numbers Services operated
Class 373/1 22 373001–373022 10 BR sets Eurostar 373001/373002
373007-373018
373021/373022		 London to Paris (Gare du Nord)
London to Brussels
London to Marne-la-Vallée (for Disneyland Paris)
London to Marseille Saint-Charles[e 2]
London to Bourg St Maurice[e 2]
8 373101-373108 NMBS sets 373101-373108
32 373201-373232 SNCF sets 373201/373202
373205–373212
373214-373223
373229–373232
IZY 373213/373224 Paris to Brussels
SNCF 373203/373204
373225/373226
373227/373228		 It was withdrawn in October 2014.
Class 373/2 14 373301–373314 8 BR's NoL sets Eurostar 373301-373314 Former SNCF hired to operate.[30]
Spare powercars 1 373999 1 Eurostar 373999 Used as a refurbished and spare vehicle.[12]
  1. including power car.
  2. Avignon and Alps ski-train services are worked by SNCF quad-voltage sets.

Train formation

Each set is formed of 2 power cars and 18 coaches:

Original:

Coach Description Seating
1st 2nd Toilets Baby changing
Power Car
1 Standard Class - 48 1 1
2 - 56 -
3 - 2 -
4 - 1 -
5 - 2 -
6 Bar-Buffet - - - -
7 Standard Premier/Business Premier 39 - 1 -
8 Standard Premier/Business Premier - -
9 Standard Premier/Business Premier 25 - 1(D) -
10 Standard Premier/Business Premier - -
11 Standard Premier/Business Premier 39 - 1 -
12 Standard Premier/Business Premier - -
13 Bar-Buffet - - - -
14 Standard Class - 56 2 -
15 - 1 -
16 - 2 -
17 - 1 -
18 - 48 1
Power Car

Refurbished:

Coach Description Seating
1st 2nd Toilets Baby changing
Power Car
1 Standard Class - 52 1 -
2 - 56 -
3 - 2 1
4 - 1 -
5 - 2 1
6 Bar-Buffet - - - -
7 Standard Premier/Business Premier 39 - 1 -
8 - -
9 25 - 1(D) -
10 - -
11 39 - 1 -
12 - -
13 Bar-Buffet - - - -
14 Standard Class - 56 2 1
15 - 1 -
16 - 2 1
17 - 1 -
18 - 52 -
Power Car

North of London/Regional Eurostar sets are formed of 2 power cars and 14 coaches:

Coach Description Seating
1st 2nd Toilets Baby changing
Power car
1 Standard Class - 48 1 1
2 - 58 -
3 - 2 -
4 - 1 -
5 Bar-Buffet - - - -
6 Standard Premier/Business Premier 39 - 1 -
7 26 - 1(D) -
8 - -
9 39 - 1 -
10 Bar-Buffet - - - -
11 Standard Class - 58 2 -
12 - 1 -
13 - 2 -
14 - 48 1 1
Power car

Fleet list
Key: In service Refurbished and in service In storage Scrapped Preserved
Power car numberOperatorStatusNotes
373001/373002EurostarScrappedScrapped 18 March 2018 at European Metal Recycling, Kingsbury
373003/373004Scrapped 15 December 2016 at European Metal Recycling, Kingsbury
373005/373006Scrapped 27 October 2016 at European Metal Recycling, Kingsbury
373007/373008EurostarIn serviceRefurbished and in service
373009/373010EurostarScrappedScrapped 19 January 2018 at European Metal Recycling, Kingsbury
373011/373012Scrapped 17 February 2018 at European Metal Recycling, Kingsbury
373013/373014Scrapped 17 March 2017 at European Metal Recycling, Kingsbury
373015/373016EurostarIn serviceRefurbished and in service
373017/373018EurostarScrappedScrapped March 2018 at the SNCF yard in Valenciennes
373019/373020Scrapped 2 December 2016 at European Metal Recycling, Kingsbury
373021/373022
373101 [note 1]EurostarPreservedWithdrawn 8 August 2017, preserved at National College for Advance Transport and Infrastructure, Doncaster[31]
373102 [note 1]Withdrawn 17 August 2017, preserved at National College for Advance Transport and Infrastructure, Birmingham[31]
373103/373104EurostarScrappedScrapped 24 November 2017 at European Metal Recycling, Kingsbury
373105EurostarIn storage
373106 [note 1]EurostarPreservedPreserved at Train World, Schaerbeek, near Brussels[32]
373107/373108EurostarScrappedScrapped 1 February 2017 at European Metal Recycling, Kingsbury
373201/373202Scrapped 25 May 2018 at European Metal Recycling, Kingsbury
373203/373204SNCFScrapped 23 September 2014 at the SNCF yard in Vaires-sur-Marne
373205/373206EurostarIn serviceRefurbished and in service
373207/373208EurostarIn storage
373209/373210EurostarIn serviceRefurbished and in service
373211/373212Refurbished and in service
373213/373224IZYIn serviceOn hire to Thalys[22]
373215/373216Eurostar
373217/373218
373219/373220EurostarIn serviceRefurbished and in service
373221/373222Refurbished and in service
373223/373214EurostarIn service
373225/373226SNCFScrappedScrapped at the SNCF Yard, Culoz
373227/373228Scrapped 17 May 2017 at the SNCF Technicentre, Romilly-sur-Seine
373229/373230EurostarIn serviceRefurbished and in service
373231/373232EurostarScrappedScrapped 22 September 2017 at European Metal Recycling, Kingsbury
373301/373302EurostarIn storage
373303
373304 [note 1]EurostarPreservedpreserved at One:One Collection, Margate[33]
373305/373306EurostarIn storage
373307
373308 [note 1]EurostarPreservedWithdrawn 7 August 2015, preserved at National Railway Museum, York
373309/373310EurostarIn storage
373311/373312
373313/3733143314 to be plinthed at Temple Mills[34]
373999EurostarIn serviceSpare power car, refurbished
  1. Power car only

Technical details

Power
Eurostar 373211/373212 on LGV Interconnexion Est, near Chennevières-lès-Louvres, Val d'Oise, France

All Class 373 sets were built as tri-voltage, able to operate on 25 kV 50 Hz AC (LGVs, Eurotunnel, High Speed 1, UK overhead electrified lines) and 3 kV DC (Belgian classic lines) using pantographs, and 750 V DC (UK third rail network) using third-rail pickup shoes. The shoes were retracted when switching to overhead power.[35] After the opening of High Speed 1 in 2007, overhead electrification is used throughout and the third rail shoes had been removed. Five of the SNCF-owned sets are quadri-voltage, able to operate from 1,500 V DC (French lignes classiques) in the south of France, used on London–Avignon and ski services.

A Class 373 passes Herne Hill; from 1994 until 2007, Eurostar ran its services to and from London Waterloo/Waterloo International, using the third rail network in Southern England

The trains are powered by asynchronous traction motors. There are four powered axles in each power car and two powered axles in the outer bogie of the front passenger coach (a layout used on the original SNCF TGV Sud-Est (PSE) sets) giving 12 powered axles. Each set draws up to 16MW with 12 MW (16,000 hp) of traction power, but the lowest power-to-weight ratio in the TGV family.

The class uses five different standards of overhead: domestic catenary in each of Belgium, France and the United Kingdom; fixed-height catenary on LGV lines and HS1; and taller catenary in the Channel Tunnel, designed to accommodate double-deck car-carrying trains and roll-on roll-off heavy goods vehicle trains. The driver must manually lower and then raise the pantograph during the transition between catenary systems.

Signalling systems

The Class 373s are fitted with a wide range of signalling systems, these include:

  • AWS (Automatic Warning System), the British signalling system, only used when services call at Ashford International[36]
  • TPWS (Train Protection & Warning System), the safety system that works with the AWS, only used when services call at Ashford International[36]
  • TVM (Transmission Voie-Machine), used on LGV ("lignes à grande vitesse"),[37] Eurotunnel, HS1 and HSL 1[38]
  • KVB (Contrôle de vitesse par balises), used between Paris Gare du Nord and LGV Nord, on French Classic Lines and on the HS1 connected throat around London St Pancras. It is electro-mechanical with fixed radio beacons.[36]
  • TBL, (the Belgian signalling system,) electro-mechanical, used between Brussels-South/Midi and HSL 1, Belgium.[36]

When travelling at high speeds, it is not possible for the driver to accurately see colour-light signals at the side of the track. With the TVM signalling used on the high-speed lines, the target speed for the end of the current block is displayed with a flashing indication on the in-cab display for the next block if it is at a different speed. Auxiliary signalling information, including the location of neutral sections in the overhead supply and pantograph adjustment zones, is displayed in cab and by the lineside. The operation of circuit breakers over neutral sections is handled automatically on TVM-signalled lines only, and pantograph adjustments must always be manually performed by the driver.[39]

Bogies and couplings

The Class 373 was designed to comply with the Channel Tunnel safety regulations, and consists of two independent half-sets, each with its own power car. Most of the trailer cars are supported on Jacobs bogies shared between adjacent coaches, supporting both of them, with the cars next to the power cars and the two middle coaches (carriages 9 and 10 in a full-length set) not articulated. Non-shared bogies are coupled with Scharfenberg couplers, providing three points for separation in the event of an emergency in the Channel Tunnel. The electrical supply cables between a power car and the first carriage are designed to break apart during an emergency separation. In the event of a serious fire in the Tunnel the passengers would be transferred into the undamaged half of the train, which would then be uncoupled from the damaged half and driven out of the tunnel.[40] If the undamaged part is the rear half of the train, this would be driven by the Chef du Train who is a fully authorised driver and occupies the rear driving cab in the tunnel for this purpose.[41] Due to limitations on driving hours, the driver and Chef du Train exchange roles for the return journey.

The articulated design is advantageous during a derailment as the carriages will tend to stay aligned. On non-articulated trains couplings may break and the carriages may jackknife. A disadvantage of articulation is that it is difficult to remove and separate the individual carriages for maintenance. Although the power cars can be uncoupled, specialised depot equipment is needed to split carriages by lifting the entire train at once. Once uncoupled, one of the carriage ends is left without a bogie at the point of separation, so a bogie frame is required to support it.

Braking systems

The class 373s use three braking systems:

  • The 12 traction motors can provide dynamic braking
  • All non-powered axles have four disc brakes.
  • All powered axles have cast iron brake shoes pushed against the wheel rim.

A train travelling at 300 kilometres per hour (186 mph) can slow down to stop in 65 seconds, during which time the braking distance is about 2.7 km (1.7 miles)

Miscellaneous

To combat the hypnotic effect of driving through the tunnel at speed for 20 minutes, the power cars have a very small windscreen when compared to other high-speed trains and TGVs.[42][43][44]

Significant events

Accidents and incidents
Further information: TGV accidents

On 5 June 2000, 373101/102 on a Paris to London service derailed on LGV Nord near Arras, France at 180mph (290 km/h). 14 people were treated for light injuries or shock, with no serious injures or fatalities. The articulated design was credited with maintaining stability during the incident and the train stayed upright.[45][46] After investigation, the incident was blamed on a component of the transmission between the motors and axles coming loose. To reduce the unsprung mass, TGV trains have the motors attached to the train rather than the bogies. In order for the train to be able to go around curves a sliding "tripod" assembly is used, which became dislodged.

There have been several minor incidents. In October 1994, there were teething problems relating to the start of operations. The first preview train, carrying 400 members of the press and media, was delayed for two hours by technical issues.[47][46][48][49] On 29 May 2002 a set was accidentally routed towards Victoria instead of London Waterloo, causing it to arrive 25 minutes late. The signalling error that led to the incorrect routeing was stated to have caused "no risk" as a result.[50]

During the night of 18–19 December 2009, there was heavy snow causing widespread disruption to roads, railways and airports across northern Europe. Five trains (one of which was 373217 + 373218) broke down inside the Channel Tunnel because snow in the engine compartment was melted by warmer temperatures in the tunnel, the resulting water causing electrical and control system faults. Eurostar commissioned an independent report to evaluate what went wrong and how future events could be prevented or better managed.[51] The report's recommendations included:

  • Increased number of diesel rescue locomotives with exhaust filtration to be on standby at each end of the tunnel.
  • Major changes to the power cars to prevent snow ingress into electrical compartments.
  • Better staff training.
  • Improved communication internally and with other stakeholders (Eurotunnel and emergency services).
  • Better information provision to passengers.

The majority of the recommendations were implemented by 23 October 2012.

Record runs

On 30 July 2003, on the opening press run of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link Section 1, 373313/314 established a new British rail speed record of 334.7 kilometres per hour (208.0 mph), breaking the previous record of 261.0 kilometres per hour (162.2 mph) set by an Advanced Passenger Train on 20 December 1979.[52][53][13]

On 16 May 2006 373209/210 created a record for the longest non-stop high-speed journey when it made the 1,421-kilometre (883 mi) journey from London to Cannes in 7 hours 25 minutes.[54] This was a publicity event for the Da Vinci Code film; the train carried actors Tom Hanks and Audrey Tautou and director Ron Howard, who had jointly named the train The Da Vinci Code prior to departing for the film premiere at the Cannes Film Festival.

On 4 September 2007 the first revenue train to use High Speed 1 to St Pancras set a new speed record:[55] it left Paris at 09:44 BST and arrived at St Pancras two hours three minutes and 39 seconds later. Officials aboard recorded speeds of up to 325 kilometres per hour (202 mph) in France and 314 kilometres per hour (195 mph) in Britain.[56][57]

Exhibitions
373309 alongside Mat '54 and NS Class 1500 at Rotterdam Centraal open day in 1996

On several occasions sets appeared at special events and displays, such as at Lille Flandres in 1995,[ex 1] Rotterdam Centraal Station on 6 April 1996,[ex 2] Berlin-Grunewald station for Eurailspeed 1998,[ex 3] Madrid Chamartín railway station for Eurailspeed 2002[ex 4] and at the York National Railway Museum for the Railfest 200 celebrations in 2004.[ex 5]

To celebrate ten years of Eurostar service, a barge was floated down the River Thames in London on 16 November 2004,[ex 6] with a power car on board, specially painted by Ben Langlands and Nikki Bell. Named "Language of Places on Eurostar" by Langlands and Bell, it consisted of the three-letter "destination codes for all the places where Eurostar goes or connects".[69] The barge went under Tower Bridge,[70] past the Houses of Parliament and moored beside the museum-warship HMS Belfast.[71]

At the beginning of August 2015, ex North of London powercar 373308 was added to the national collection put on display at the National Railway Museum in York.[72]

Model railways

In 1995 Hornby Railways launched its first version of the Eurostar in HO gauge which can be extended from 4 to 6 cars,[73] while Kato have produced it in N gauge which can be extended from 8 to the full 20 cars. Both manufacturers have made versions in the original and new e300 liveries. Hornby Railways then produced a OO gauge train pack model which was released in October 1996 which again can be extended from 4 cars to 6 cars.[74] Hornby Railways released its first OO Gauge train set of the BR Class 373 Eurostar in 1997.[75]

Liveries
"Three Capitals" sets in the original Eurostar livery
NOL (North Of London) sets in original Eurostar livery
NOL (North Of London) sets with GNER livery
"Three Capitals" sets in original Eurostar livery with SNCF branding and grey ends
NOL (North Of London) sets in original Eurostar livery with SNCF branding and grey ends.
"Three Capitals" sets in the new refurbished Eurostar livery, giving them the "E300" name.

See also

Notes
  1. Eurailspeed '95: half-set 3201[58]:55
  2. Rotterdam CS open day: full-set 3309/3310[59][60][61][62]
  3. Berlin Eurailspeed '98: full-set 3303/3304[63]
  4. Madrid Eurailspeed 2002: power car 3212 + coaches, transported using Iberian gauge transporter trailers via Portbou–Barcelona–Valencia–Alcazar[64] on 12 October 2002[65]
  5. York Railfest 200: power car 3313 only[66]
  6. London floating installation: power car 3307 only[67][68]

References
  1. Marsden 2011, p. 216
  2. Milner, Chris (October 2008). "Eurostar's new home". The Railway Magazine. Vol. 154 no. 1, 290. pp. 23–26. ISSN 0033-8923.
  3. "therailwaycentre.com: EMU_373". Retrieved 2 March 2012.
  4. "Spec Sheet; French" (PDF).
  5. BN history Archived 6 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine (in Dutch)
  6. Passenger volumes up at Eurostar – Railway Gazette International. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  7. Telegraph, 25 Years Eurostar
  8. "Eurostar seating plan" (PDF). RailEurope.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 October 2009. Retrieved 30 April 2007.
  9. "Ownership & Structure". Eurostar. Archived from the original on 8 May 2009. Retrieved 11 May 2009.
  10. "Information about Eurostar". Eurostar International Limited.
  11. "GEC Alsthom: a marriage a la Jack Sprat". Management Today. Retrieved 25 August 2009.
  12. "GBRF to haul Eurostars for scrap" Railways Illustrated November 2016 page 6
  13. "Eurostar history". Eurotunnel. Archived from the original on 29 October 2009. Retrieved 10 May 2009.
  14. "Multi-million facelift for Eurostar". BBC News. 27 May 2003. Retrieved 27 December 2007.
  15. "Eurostar to tender for refurbishment". Railnews.co.uk. 8 September 2008. Retrieved 5 March 2009.
  16. "Eurostar refurbishment design contract awarded". Railway Gazette International. 8 April 2009. Archived from the original on 14 April 2012. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  17. Smithers, Rebecca (9 April 2009). "Eurostar interiors to get makeover by Italian luxury car designer". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 9 April 2009.
  18. "Eurostar invites bidders to undertake major interior refurbishment of fleet" (PDF). Rail Management. Dunstable, Beds. 8 September 2008. p. 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 June 2009.
  19. Prentice, Paul (19 November 2014). "Eurostar refurbishment behind schedule". Rail Magazine. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  20. Briginshaw, David (21 July 2015). "Eurostar unveils refurbished high-speed train". International Railway Journal. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
  21. Clinnick, Richard (20 September 2016). "Eurostar prepares to scrap 186mph Class 373s". Rail Magazine. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
  22. "[FR] First Eurostar train in Izy livery for Paris – Brussels low-cost services". Railcolor News. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
  23. Harper, Keith (29 July 1999). "Eurostar trains come to aid of east coast passengers". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 4 August 2009.
  24. White Rose to run to Leeds with extra trains Rail issue 428 6 February 2002 page 16
  25. Early East Coast Christmas as Leeds White Rose starts Rail issue 437 12 June 2002 page 6
  26. Regional Eurostars to France Today's Railways Europe issue 135 March 2007 page 39
  27. Class 91s to replace GNER's Eurostars Rail issue 527 23 November 2005 pages 14/15
  28. Harper, Keith (16 June 2000). "Lack of power cuts rail service". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 4 August 2009.
  29. Webster, Ben (6 July 2007). "Trains for high-speed link handed over to the French". The Times. London. Retrieved 9 April 2009.
  30. EMU Formations Archived 15 August 2017 at the Wayback Machine – abrail.co.uk Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  31. Donated Eurostars arrive at HS colleges Today's Railways UK issue 190 October 2017 page 13
  32. Eurostar preserved in Belgium Today's Railways Europe issue 277 January 2019 page 68
  33. Eurostar Preserved Railways Illustrated January 2020 page 24
  34. Entente Cordiale power car saved The Railway Magazine issue 1426 January 2020 page 96
  35. "High-speed third rail shoegear". Institution of Mechanical Engineers. Archived from the original on 8 July 2011. Retrieved 6 May 2009.
  36. A. J. L., Pincock (1 May 1998). "Part F: Journal of Rail and Rapid Transit". Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. 212. pp. 235–251. doi:10.1243/0954409981530832. S2CID 110282209.
  37. Davroux, Thierry. "The French signalling system". www.thuthuboutick.fr. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
  38. "HS1 New Operator Guide". High Speed One. February 2013. Archived from the original (DOC) on 23 June 2016.
  39. Eurostar Driver's eye view (Documentary). 2004. Event occurs at 12:56 min.
  40. Wolmar, Christian (23 November 2007). "Who is going to use the new high speed line?". Rail Magazine. No. 579. Retrieved 11 May 2009.
  41. Millward, David (27 November 2008). "Eurostar services could be disrupted by strike in run up to Christmas". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 11 May 2009.
  42. Keating, Oliver. "Features of the Eurostar: The Windscreen". High Speed Rail (HSR). Archived from the original on 13 April 2008. Retrieved 29 September 2010. it was found that going down a tunnel at a fast rate for several minutes induced a hypnotic effect on the driver
  43. Rogers, Robert. "Eurostar Depot". The Newham Story. Newham Council. Archived from the original on 14 July 2011. if a normal size window and side windows were used, it causes Hypnotic effect on the driver when travelling through the Tunnel.
  44. Poole, Bob. "Class 373 Eurostar high speed electric multiple units". The Gravesend Railway Enthusiasts Society. Archived from the original on 17 August 2011. Retrieved 27 September 2010. the small size of the drivers window is deliberate, to avoid hypnotic effects while in tunnel.
  45. "Eurostar train derails in France". BBC News. 5 June 2000. Retrieved 10 May 2009.
  46. "TGVweb TGV Accidents article". trainweb.org. Retrieved 10 May 2009.
  47. Wolmar, Christian (21 October 1994). "Channel train opens with a breakdown". The Independent. London. Retrieved 10 May 2009.
  48. Midgley, Simon (22 October 1994). "Channel train's new breakdown". The Independent. London. Retrieved 23 May 2009.
  49. Rogers, Richard (July 1995). "Managing British Public Opinion of the Channel Tunnel" (PDF). Technology and Culture. Society for the History of Technology. 36 (3): 636–640. doi:10.2307/3107245. JSTOR 3107245.
  50. Clark, Andrew (29 May 2002). "Eurostar sent down wrong track". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 11 May 2009.
  51. "Eurostar Independent Review February 12, 2010" (PDF). London. Retrieved 23 October 2012.
  52. "Train smashes speed record". BBC News. 30 July 2003. Retrieved 2 June 2010.
  53. Eurostar breaks UK high speed record. Eurostar. Archived from the original on 7 June 2011. Retrieved 6 July 2009.
  54. "Eurostar sets new Guinness World Record with cast and filmmakers of Columbia Pictures' The Da Vinci Code". Eurostar. 17 June 2006. Archived from the original on 14 May 2007. Retrieved 27 May 2009.
  55. "Eurostar breaks UK high speed record". Erik's Rail News. 30 July 2003. Retrieved 12 April 2007.
  56. "Eurostar sets Paris-London record". BBC News. 4 September 2007. Retrieved 4 September 2007.
  57. highspeedeurostar (20 December 2007). "Waterloo Sunset" – via YouTube.
  58. Semmens, Peter (December 1995). "Eurailspeed 95". The Railway Magazine. Vol. 141 no. 1136. pp. 54–55.
  59. tramlijn30 (7 April 1996). "Open dag NS" (photograph). Retrieved 15 February 2012.
  60. Smit, Johannes J. (7 April 1996). "NS D0132" (photograph). Retrieved 15 February 2012. 6511 met Eurostar 3309 in Rotterdam CS
  61. Vliet, Gerard van (7 April 1996). "960407 Rotterdam CS". Eurostar 3309
  62. Spilt, Nico. "Rotterdam CS (deel 2)". Langs de rails (in Dutch).
  63. Perkins, Justin D. "East meets West in Berlin" (photograph). The 373 was in Berlin for Eurailspeed '98
  64. Tito Mario. "Adivina adivinanza…". Flickr. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
  65. Theißen, Johannes (20 January 2003). "Eurostar im "Rollbockbetrieb"". Eisenbahn-Kurier (in German). Retrieved 10 January 2013.
  66. "Record-breaking Eurostar features at Railfest 2004". Association of Train Operating Companies. Retrieved 25 August 2009. power car 3313 will be there to take its place among other historic record-breaking locomotives.
  67. "Eurostar floats!". Eurostar. 15 November 2004. Archived from the original on 18 February 2009. Retrieved 3 August 2009.
  68. "Eurostar pushes the boat out for its tenth birthday". Headline News. The Railway Magazine. Vol. 151 no. 1245. January 2005. p. 11. 3307 was craned onto barge Tarra Marique, then moored alongside HMS Belfast ... delayed ... those killed or injured in the Ufton derailment
  69. 2007-08-10, Private email reply from Ben Langlands and Nikki Bell
  70. "Photograph of Eurostar in front of Tower Bridge". livettslaunches.co.uk. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 3 August 2009.
  71. "Short write-up of the journey". goeurope.com. Retrieved 3 August 2009.
  72. Eurostar Power Car to join railway hall of fame Archived 11 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine – National Railway Museum. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
  73. "Hornby - Eurostar Train Set (HO) 1995". Hornby Railways Collector Guide. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
  74. "Hornby - Eurostar Train pack (OO) 1996". Hornby Railways Collector Guide. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  75. "Hornby Railways 1997 - Eurostar Train Set". Hornby Railways Collector Guide. Retrieved 16 June 2020.

Sources
  • Marsden, Colin J. (2011). Traction Recognition (2nd ed.). Ian Allan. ISBN 978-0-7110-3494-5.

Further reading
  • Perren, Brian (25 January – 7 February 1990). "BR's New European Trains". RAIL. No. 114. EMAP National Publications. pp. 6–7. ISSN 0953-4563. OCLC 49953699.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.