Британский дизельный поезд класса 158: История и модернизация

British diesel multiple unit train

The Class 158 was constructed between 1989 and 1992 by British Rail Engineering Limited (BREL) at its Derby Litchurch Lane Works. The majority were built as two car sets, some three car sets were also produced. During September 1990, the first Express Sprinters were operated by ScotRail; the type was promptly introduced to secondary routes across the Midlands, Northern England, Wales and the South West. The Class 158 enabled the replacement of large numbers of elderly DMUs but also several locomotive hauled trains as well; this was partially accomplished via the cascading of existing Sprinter units onto other routes. To capitalise on the Class 158's improved onboard amenities in comparison to other rolling stock in use for regional services, the Alphaline branding was launched during the mid 1990s; it was also used for a time in the post privatisation era. As a result of British Rail's privatisation in the mid 1990s, the Class 158s were divided amongst various newly created operators broadly along their existing routes. Due to their relatively young age at that time, most operators elected to retain them for the following decades. Several, such as Northern Rail and Arriva Trains Wales, had their Class 158 fleets modernised and refitted with various new facilities, such modifications often including greater accessibility, onboard passenger information systems, Wi Fi connectivity, and toilet retention tanks. By the 2020s, many Class 158 operators have started to or have replaced the type with newer rolling stock, such as the Class 170 Turbostar, Class 185 Desiro, and Class 197 Civity multiple units.

By the beginning of the 1980s, British Rail (BR) operated a large fleet of first generation DMUs, which had been constructed in prior decades to various designs. While formulating its long term strategy for this sector of its operations, British Rail planners recognised that there would be considerable costs incurred by undertaking refurbishment programmes necessary for the continued use of these ageing multiple units, particularly due to the necessity of handling and removing hazardous materials such as asbestos. In light of the high costs involved in retention, planners examined the prospects for the development and introduction of a new generation of DMUs to succeed the first generation. In the concept stage, two separate approaches were devised, one involving a so called railbus that prioritised the minimisation of both initial (procurement) and ongoing (maintenance and operational) costs, while the second was a more substantial DMU that could deliver superior performance than the existing fleet, particularly when it came to long distance services. Both the Class 150 and 151 units were subject to extensive evaluations with the aim of a larger production order being forthcoming for the more successful of the two types. Testing revealed that the Class 150 had exceptional ride quality, as well as fully satisfying the 50per cent engine out performance requirements. and Gmeinder GM190 final drive unit. The majority were built as two car sets. 17 units were produced as three car units; eight of these units have since had the centre car transferred to different units of the class, whilst another eight have been upgraded and redesignated as the Class 159. The majority of units, as originally built by British Rail Engineering Limited (BREL), were configured with standard class accommodation only; a number of Scottish based sets were fitted with a small first class section in one vehicle. Later on, several other sets were retrofitted with first class accommodation. The passenger saloons are air conditioned, which was a first for regional trains in the UK.

ScotRail was the first part of British Rail to introduce the Class 158s to public service in September 1990. These were employed on Glasgow Queen Street to Edinburgh Waverley services, as well as services to Aberdeen and Inverness. The Class 158s then went on to be deployed elsewhere in Britain, primarily in the Midlands, Northern England, Wales and the South West.

After the privatisation of British Rail, the Class 158 fleet was divided among several franchises.

The first privatised incarnation of ScotRail inherited a 46 strong fleet which continued in service. Following the introduction of newly built Class 170 Turbostar units on primary express services in 1999, the Class 158 fleet was reduced in number by six, with those remaining cascaded away to secondary routes such as the Far North Line. During 2003, plans were mooted for a portion of the fleet to be swapped with Class 156 units operated by Central Trains, as the latter were thought better suited to some of the short distance routes that were being operated by ScotRail's 158s. However, this scheme failed to materialise and, by the mid 2000s, operations of ScotRail’s Class 158s ranged from short hops (such as Glasgow Queen Street to Anniesland) to rural lines and long distance expresses, supplementing other express units. In 2010, these units started to appear at Glasgow Central station to run on the Glasgow Central to Edinburgh via Shotts line, and on to the Glasgow Central to Whifflet line. Some additional units have since been acquired from other operators to provide extra capacity. Refurbishment and reliverying has also taken place since privatisation. The original ScotRail franchise applied its own livery to the Class 158s, followed by a further repaint by First ScotRail after it took control of the franchise. The fleet has now gained a permanent blue and white livery based on the Scottish Saltire, after Transport Scotland announced in September 2008 that it was specifying a permanent livery for all Scottish trains, which would not be changed in the event of a change of franchisee. Interiors have also seen attention on more than one occasion. The most recent refurbishment of 25 units involved repainting, new seating, extra luggage space and new customer information systems. Toilet retention tanks were also fitted.

In the early days of privatisation, the Class 158 Express Sprinter units were in regular use by Wales & West on its long distance Alphaline services from South Wales to North West England, North Wales, Cornwall and London Waterloo, as well as on some Central Trains services to and along the Cambrian Line. Successor companies Wales & Borders (2001) and Arriva Trains Wales (2003) continued to use this type of unit on similar workings, with a total allocation of 40 units also allowing Cambrian Line services to become entirely Class 158 operated. By the end of 2006, a total of 16 units (158815 158817 and 158842 158854) had returned to the leasing company, as Arriva gained exclusive use of the entire Class 175 Coradia fleet which had previously been shared with other train operators. The remaining 24 strong Class 158 Express Sprinter fleet became permanently based at a purpose built depot in Machynlleth during 2007. Despite initial problems in retro fitting the necessary 'glass cockpit' style driver controls, Arriva's Class 158 Express Sprinter units became the first fleet in the UK to be equipped for regular use with the ETCS Level 2 signalling system. Commercial operation under ETCS started on 28 March 2011. Accordingly, the units operate all Cambrian Line services between Mid Wales and Birmingham, as well as supplementing the Class 175 Coradia units on other long distance routes. During 2009, Arriva also proposed using the fleet to provide a direct service between and London, although this proposal was later rejected by the Office of Rail Regulation. Between December 2010 and October 2012, there was a comprehensive refurbishment of the ATW Class 158 fleet, during which almost the entirety of the interiors was replaced with 'as new' fittings and fixtured. This work, which was funded by the Welsh Assembly Government at a cost of £7.5m, included both interior and exterior repainting, the installation of replacement seating, wall coverings, carpets, lighting, luggage racks and toilet fittings. A passenger information system was also fitted, while selected seats gained at seat power sockets for mobile phones and laptops. Prior to the early 2010s refurbishment, the fleet had been subject to only minor attention to its interior since a refit by Wales & West during the late 1990s (little more than the fabric on the older seats changed and CCTV fitted) as well as having been only partially repainted into Arriva colours externally. The door controls and exterior destination displays were one of the few elements to be replaced prior to this refurbishment work. During late August 2018, the first PRM compliant Class 158 was introduced by ATW. On 14 October 2018, the Class 158 fleet was transferred to the new operator Transport for Wales. During February 2019, the first unit was seen in Transport for Wales colours. As early as 2018, it was being reported that Transport for Wales were planning to replace its Class 158s with newly built Class 197 multiple units by 2023.

The Class 158 Express Sprinter Units were introduced to the East Midlands by Regional Railways Central to replace the Class 156 Super Sprinter on long distance express services branded as Alphaline, such as to via Following privatisation, Central Trains operated these services but quickly procured a large fleet of Class 170 Turbostar units for such services and transferred the Class 158 fleet to secondary routes such as Birmingham New Street to Hereford and Derby to Matlock. East Midlands Trains (EMT) had a fleet of 25 units inherited from Central Trains, with some units transferred from First Great Western and South West Trains. EMR's Class 158 Express Sprinter units operate long distance express services (such as Norwich to Liverpool) and secondary non express workings such as Nottingham to , Nottingham to Matlock and Leicester to Lincoln Central. The hourly Norwich to Liverpool service has been criticised for overcrowding, especially between Liverpool and Nottingham. This resulted from the Department for Transport specifying two coach units in the EMT franchise starting in November 2007. In the light of persistent and excessive overcrowding, with some passengers being left behind on occasions, the DfT eventually admitted that it had made a mistake.

The Wales & West franchise (later Wessex Trains) originally operated twelve Class 158 Express Sprinter units on long distance services on the Wessex Main Line. These units were extended into three coach formations with the acquisition of further units. Unlike the purpose built three car Class 158s and Class 159 units, the centre car was a Driving Motor with the cab locked out of use and an adapter to connect the different sized gangways. In 2006, First Great Western (FGW) inherited the Wessex Trains fleet following the merger of the Great Western and Wessex franchises. FGW then swapped most of their former Wessex Trains Class 158s for former First TransPennine Express examples. This was so that FGW could have all Class 158 units that were owned by Porterbrook. During late 2007 and early 2008, the FGW Class 158 Express Sprinter fleet was refurbished. Improvements included: re upholstery of seats, and repainting or replacement of interior fittings, alterations to interior lighting and total replacement of toilets. Additionally, the windows have been replaced with safer laminated glass and Halon fire extinguishers replaced with foam ones. At the same time, the units' engines were overhauled and the units repainted in FGW's own lilac and blue colours. The fleet is now used on long distance services between Exeter St Davids and Plymouth / Penzance, Cardiff Central and Taunton / Portsmouth Harbour, and Great Malvern / and Weymouth. They are now also used on the Tarka Line on services between Barnstaple and Exeter Central replacing the class 143 'Pacers' which were running on the line. Great Western Railway operates a total of 18 units, of which six are hybrids (units where one end coach is a driving coach from another unit of the same class tagged on to a two car unit), one is a purpose built three car unit and the remaining 11 are two coach sets.

As a result of the privatisation process, Northern Spirit (later Arriva Trains Northern) was created from Regional Railways North East. Northern Spirit inherited a large fleet of Class 158 units, many of which were used on TransPennine Express services, with others used on West Yorkshire Metro sponsored services. First North Western (descended from Regional Railways North West) had eight Class 158s, which were based at Newton Heath and used on various mid to long distance routes, which were transferred to Leeds Neville Hill depot to join the rest of the 158 fleet at the start of the Northern Rail franchise. A number of 158s have been sponsored by Merseytravel despite the fact that they do not go near Merseyside; the sponsorship arrangement was to ensure that Class 156 DMUs were cascaded from West Yorkshire to the busiest Merseyside services. During 2006, First TransPennine Express started to replace its Class 158s with newer Class 185 Desiro and Class 170 Turbostar units. The Class 158s were subsequently transferred to Northern Rail, Central Trains, South West Trains and First Great Western. Following a franchise change, all Northern units were passed to Arriva Rail North in April 2016. Throughout the 2010s, Northern conducted a refurbishment programme on its Class 158s, starting with the three car DMUs and later progressing to the two car members of the fleet. In 2018, Northern acquired an additional eight Class 158 units from Abellio Scotrail; the first few units being transferred during February 2018 while the remainder followed in December 2018. On 1 March 2020, the units transferred to the franchise's new operator Northern Trains.

Currently South Western Railway operates Class 158s from Exeter St Davids and Salisbury to Waterloo; and on the Salisbury to Romsey via Southampton Central service. All five Class 158s were transferred to Virgin CrossCountry as a result of the privatisation process; these were subsequently used on services between Swindon and Birmingham via Stroud. During 2003, the company's Class 158s were displaced by the newly built and high speed diesel tilting trains.

On 3 December 2005, unit 158856 was involved in an accident at in which two passengers were killed whilst crossing the line. The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) criticised the risk assessment at the crossing as inadequate. On 1 February 2008, the same unit 158856 collided with debris from an overline footbridge, which had just been accidentally demolished by a tipper lorry, near Barrow upon Soar. The lorry driver had forgotten to fully lower the tipper body after delivering materials to a site next to the railway, and drove into the footbridge, knocking its superstructure onto the track. The DMU hit the footbridge debris approximately one minute later. Three people including the driver were taken to hospital. On 22 January 2010, unit 158701 was derailed at due to faulty points. One person sustained minor injuries. On 21 July 2013, unit 158774 was parked empty at when it was run into by 156402. Eight passengers were injured. The cause was driver error. On 1 April 2017, unit 158758 collided with the buffer stops at at a speed of Fifteen people were injured. The cause was driver error. On 31 October 2021, a South Western Railway Class 159 unit, 159102, collided with Great Western Railway class 158 coupled units, 158762 and 158763, at Salisbury tunnel junction, immediately before Fisherton tunnel. A preliminary RAIB report found the cause was poor adhesion conditions which led to the SWR train over running a signal set at danger. Unit 158763 was written off in the accident. On 6 February 2024, unit 158856 collided with a fallen tree and was derailed between and stations. One of the 31 passengers on board was injured. The RAIB opened an investigation into the accident.

During 1990–1991, BREL built six three car State Railway of Thailand ASR class units based on the Class 158 for the State Railway of Thailand.

SubclassOperatorQty. CarsUnit number158/0ScotRail402158701–158736, 158738–158741Great Western Railway13158745, 158747–158750, 158760, 158762, 158765–158769, 15877153158798, 158950–158951, 158958–158959Converted to 83158800–158801, 158803–158805, 158807, 158809, 158811158/9Northern Trains102158901–158910