BRITISH RAIL CLASS 317

The British Rail 'Class 317' electric multiple units were built by BREL at York Works in two batches, from 1981-82 and 1985-87. They were the first of several classes of British Rail EMU to be based on the all-steel Mark 3 bodyshell, departing from the "PEP"-aluminium design which had spawned the earlier Class 313 to Class 315.

Contents

Description

Class 317/1

Class 317/2

Former operations

West Anglia Great Northern (WAGN)

c2c - formerly LTS Rail

Thameslink

Current operations

First Capital Connect

'one'

Fleet summary

Fleet details

Class 317/1

Class 317/2

Description

Class 317/1

The first batch of 48 units, built in 1981-82, were classified as 'Class 317/1'. Units were numbered in the range 317301-348, and had a maximum speed of 100 mph. Each unit consisted of four carriages; two outer driving 2nd class only vehicles, an intermediate trailer with both 1st and 2nd class, and a motor vehicle with 2nd class seating. The technical description of the formation of the units is DTOS+PMOS+TSOL+DTOS. Individual carriages were numbered as follows:


★ 77000-77047 - DTOS

★ 62661-62708 - PMOS

★ 71577-71624 - TOSL

★ 77048-77095 - DTOS
These units were built to operate services on the newly electrified London St. Pancras to Bedford route. They replaced the elderly and unreliable Class 127 "Bed-Pan" diesel multiple units. However, they did not enter service immediately due to an industrial dispute with the unions, and the "Bed-Pan" diesel units lingered on until final being replaced in mid-1983. Units were delivered in the standard livery of BR Blue/Grey.
The use of the Class 317 units on Bedford services was always intended to be a temporary measure. In 1986, the route came under control of the ''Thameslink'' subsector of newly created Network SouthEast. From 1987, new dual-voltage Class 319 units were introduced on the route, allowing the creation of a new cross-London service, from Bedford to Brighton, via Farringdon and City Thameslink station. The Class 317 units were displaced to outer-suburban services on the WCML out of London Euston station, to Milton Keynes and Northampton. They replaced the slam-door Class 310 units, which subsequently transferred to the London-Tilbury-Southend route.
However, again, the use of Class 317 units out of Euston proved to be short-lived. In 1989, the second batch of new Class 321 were introduced onto WCML services. The Class 317 units were again displaced, this time to the ''Great Northern'' and ''West Anglia'' routes out of London King's Cross and London Liverpool Street, where they joined the second batch units. Therefore, for the first time, the entire Class 317 fleet was operating in the same place.

Class 317/2

The second batch of 20 units, built in 1985-86, were classified as 'Class 317/2'. Units were numbered in the range 317349-368. In 1987, a further four units were built, numbered 317369-372. The formation of the second batch sets was similar to that of the earlier units, except the first class seating was moved to one of the driving vehicles. Thus, each unit was formed DTOS+PMOS+TOSL+DTOC. Individual carriages were numbered as follows:

★ 77200-77219 and 77280-77283 - DTOS

★ 62846-62865 and 62886-62889 - PMOS

★ 71734-71753 and 71762-71765 - TSOL

★ 77220-77239 and 77284-77287 - DTOC
The second batch units were built to operate outer-suburban trains on the ''Great Northern'' route from London King's Cross to Stevenage, Cambridge and Peterborough. Like the first batch units, they were delivered in BR Blue/Grey livery. The units replaced the slam-door Class 312 units, dating from 1975, which subsequently transferred to the Great Eastern, and London-Tilbury-Southend routes.
In 1986, the route came under the control of the newly created Network SouthEast, which introduced a bold new blue, red and white livery. The extension of the electric wires soon allowed the units to work services on the ''West Anglia'' route from London Liverpool Street to Cambridge. In 1991, electrication spread north from Cambridge to Ely and King's Lynn, allowing the replacement of locomotive-hauled trains.
The closely related 'Class 318' units which were built for the Ayrshire Coast electrification in Scotland, are effectively a 3-car version of the same design, but with a lower speed capability of 90mph.

Former operations

With the privatisation of Britain's railways, the Class 317 fleet was incorporated into the West Anglia Great Northern (WAGN) franchise. Since then, various changes have occurred to the fleet, as units have been swapped and franchises have changed. The following companies operated Class 317s after privatisation but are no longer involved or no longer exist.

West Anglia Great Northern (WAGN)

WAGN used the Class 317 fleet on various services, including all London Liverpool Street to Cambridge services on the ''West Anglia'' route, and many stopping services to intermediate destinations. The fleet also worked services on the ''Great Northern'' route, from London King's Cross to Cambridge, Peterborough, Hertford, Stevenage and King's Lynn, plus at weekends when the line to Moorgate was closed, the units operated inner suburban services from London King's Cross to Letchworth Garden City, Hertford and Welwyn Garden City.
In 1998/99, WAGN started to refurbish its Class 317/2 fleet. The work was carried out by Railcare (now owned by Alstom) at Wolverton Works, and involved new interiors and seating arrangements. The units were outshopped in a new livery of white, with a grey band across the window area, blue and yellow bands on the lower half of the body, red doors, and a grey sweep at the cab ends. Units were reclassified as 'Class 317/6' and were renumbered into the range 317649-672.

Many of the WAGN Class 317/1 units still wore the Network SouthEast (NSE) blue and red livery dating from 1986. In 2001, a new livery of metallic purple, with lilac doors was introduced. The first unit so treated was no. 317312, which had recently returned from loan to LTS Rail. The livery was progressively applied to the Class 317/1 fleet, with the final NSE examples disappearing by mid-2004. By April 2004, the only units not repainted were nos. 317301-307, which were hired to Thameslink and remained in LTS livery. The livery has also been applied to Class 313 and Class 315 units.
In April 2004, the WAGN franchise was split into the ''Great Northern'' and ''West Anglia'' routes. The latter became part of the new Greater Anglia franchise, which operates under the title 'one'. The Great Northern was temporarily operated independently under the wagn brand name, until it was merged with the Thameslink franchise in April 2006. These changes resulted in the Class 317 fleet being divided among First Capital Connect and 'one'.

c2c - formerly LTS Rail

In 1996, LTS Rail began to hire Class 317/1 units from its sister Prism Rail franchise WAGN. At first only two units were hired, but by mid-1997 this had increased to a total of 18 units. Units were maintained at LTS Rail's main depot at East Ham.
The Class 317 units enabled LTS Rail to replace the elderly Class 302 slam-door EMUs, the last examples of which were withdrawn in 1998. The Class 317 units also replaced some of the Class 310 fleet on off-peak workings, pending introduction of new Class 357 "Electrostar" units.
Many of the units hired to LTS Rail were repainted in a variation of the existing Network SouthEast blue, red and white livery. The red stripe was replaced with a green stripe, and both the blue band and green stripe extended to the cab ends.
The units were slowly returned to WAGN from 1999, with the introduction of the new "Electrostar" units. The last examples were returned by 2000. However, unreliability of the "Electrostars" meant that four units were still hired on a daily basis until 2002. These units were maintained as part of the main WAGN fleet, and therefore the specific units involved changed when units required maintenance at WAGN's Hornsey depot.

Thameslink

In 2002, 'Thameslink' began hiring four Class 317/1 units from WAGN to allow it to run additional Bedford to Moorgate services. Unlike when units were hired to LTS Rail, specific units were not involved. Instead, units were still maintained by WAGN and only hired for a fortnight. Two units each week were transferred in each direction, generally being hauled over the non-electrified route by two Class 31 locomotives provided by Fragonset Railways.
In 2004, when the WAGN franchise was split, twelve Class 317/1 units were transferred to Thameslink from the ''Great Northern'' route. This was because a planned route blockade for engineering works meant that extra units were required for Bedford services. The Class 317 units were replaced on Great Northern by Class 365 "Networkers", themselves displaced from South Eastern Trains by new Class 375 "Electrostars".
The Class 317 units transferred to Thameslink were maintained at a new depot built at Bedford. They were restricted to services on the Northern half of the franchise only, as only multi-voltage or DC units can operate South of Farringdon. All of the units were returned to 'one' following the end of the blockade.

Current operations

As of spring 2006, all Class 317s are operated by First Capital Connect or One Railway.

First Capital Connect

The First Capital Connect (FCC) franchise was created on 1st April 2006, combining the Great Northern part of the wagn franchise with the Thameslink franchise. FCC operates services out of London King's Cross and Moorgate to Peterborough, Cambridge, King's Lynn and intermediate stations, as well as operating Thameslink services from Bedford to Brighton. Its fleet of 12 'Class 317/1' units supplement the Class 365 "Networkers" on the former wagn outer-suburban and fast services out of King's Cross.
Refurbishment of these Class 317/1 units began in 2005 under WAGN and is being continued by FCC.
Two of the First Capital Connect (FCC) class 317s have now transferred to the "Thameslink" services. They operate particularly on Moorgate to Bedford services. They are usually out only during the peak, and on Saturday and Sunday they are allocated to be stabled in Cricklewood Depot.
It is anticipated that in due course, other Class 317s will join them, thus hopefully freeing up some class 319s for the Brighton and Southerly runs.

'one'

On 1st April 2004, the ''West Anglia'' and ''Stansted Express'' routes became part of the new Greater Anglia franchise, which operates under the name of ''one''.


★ 'Stansted Express'
In 2000, nine Class 317/1 units were selected to be rebuilt for the dedicated Stansted Express service, from London Liverpool Street to Stansted Airport, replacing the previously dedicated Class 322 units. The work was again carried out by Railcare at Wolverton, and included the fitting of luggage racks. The units also received a revised front end design, and a new metallic blue livery. The nine units were reclassified as 'Class 317/7', and were renumbered such that the last two digits of the set number remained unchanged.


★ 'West Anglia'
The One West Anglia route is operated using the 24 strong 'Class 317/6' fleet, supplemented with 27 standard 'Class 317/1' units. They are mainly used on outer-suburban services from London Liverpool Street to Bishop's Stortford, Hertford East and Cambridge. One Class 317/1 unit is also used each Saturday on the boat-train to Harwich International. Some of these units have recently been refurbished, including passenger information systems.
As of December 2005, some of One Railway's Class 317/1 units were renumbered into the 3175xx series. The units are still labelled up as Class 317/1 though.

New no. Old no. 317501 ex-317301 317502 ex-317302 317503 ex-317303 317504 ex-317304 317505 ex-317305 317506 ex-317306 317507 ex-317307 317508 ex-317311

New no. Old no. 317509 ex-317312 317510 ex-317313 317511 ex-317315 317512 ex-317316 317513 ex-317317 317514 ex-317318 317515 ex-317320

Fleet summary

Class	No. Built ( ★ Converted)	Year Built	Number Range	Operator	No. in Traffic	Unit Numbers	Notes
'Class 317/1'	48	1981-82	317301-348	First Capitial Connect	12	317337-348	-
				'one'	-	317301-307/311-313/315-318/320 317321/324-328/330/331/333-336	Renumbered into 3175xx range in 2005/2006. Converted to 'Class 317/8' in 2006.
				Thameslink	-	317301-307/311-313/315/316	Returned to 'one' in 2005. Since renumbered into 3175xx range.
	7 ★	1981-82	317392-398	West Anglia Great Northern	-	-	Second class only units, formed in 1995. Returned to standard condition by 2000.
	15 ★	1981-82	317501-515	'one'	15	317501-515	Renumbered from 3173xx range in 2005. (See note about no.317511 below.)
'Class 317/2'	24	1985-87	317349-372	West Anglia Great Northern	-	-	Converted to 'Class 317/6' in 1998-99.
'Class 317/6'	24 ★	1985-87	317649-672	'one'	24	317649-672	Converted from 'Class 317/2' in 1998-99.
'Class 317/7'	9 ★	1981-82	317708-732	'one'	9	317708-710/714/719/722/723/729/732	Dedicated 'Stansted Express' units.Converted from 'Class 317/1' in 2000.
'Class 317/8'	12 ★	1981-82	317881-892	'one'	12	317881-892	Dedicated 'Stansted Express' units.Converted from 'Class 317/1' in 2006.

Fleet details

Class 317/1

Unit number(s)					Name	Livery	Operator	Vehicle numbers
Cl. 317/1	Cl. 317/1	Cl. 317/1	Cl. 317/7	Cl. 317/8				DTSO	MSO	TCO	DTSO
317301	-	317501	-	-	-	'one'	'one'	77024	62661	71577	77048
317302	-	317502	-	-	-	'one'	'one'	77014 ★	62662	71578	77049
317303	-	317503	-	-	-	'one'	'one'	77002	62663	71579	77050
317304	-	317504	-	-	-	'one'	'one'	77003	62664	71580	77051
317305	-	317505	-	-	-	'one'	'one'	77004	62665	71581	77052
317306	-	317506	-	-	-	'one'	'one'	77005	62666	71582	77053
317307	-	317507	-	-	-	'one'	'one'	77006	62667	71583	77054
317308	-	-	317708	-	-	Stansted Express	'one'	77007	62668	71584	77055
317309	-	-	317709	-	Len Camp	Stansted Express	'one'	77008	62669	71585	77056
317310	-	-	317710	-	-	Stansted Express	'one'	77009	62670	71586	77057
317311	-	317508	-	-	-	'one'	'one'	77010	62697	71587	77058
317312	-	317509	-	-	-	'one'	'one'	77011	62672	71588	77059
317313	-	317510	-	-	-	'one'	'one'	77012	62673	71589	77060
317314	-	-	317714	-	-	Stansted Express	'one'	77013	62674	71590	77061
317315 ★	-	317511 ★	-	-	-	'one' ★	'one' ★	77001 ★	62675 ★	71591 ★	77062 ★
317316	-	317512	-	-	-	'one'	'one'	77015	62676	71592	77063
317317	-	317513	-	-	-	'one'	'one'	77016	62677	71593	77064
317318	-	317514	-	-	-	'one'	'one'	77017	62678	71594	77065
317319	-	-	317719	-	-	Stansted Express	'one'	77018	62679	71595	77066
317320	-	317515	-	-	-	'one'	'one'	77019	62680	71596	77067
317321	-	-	-	317881	-	Stansted Express	'one'	77020	62681	71597	77068
317322	317392	-	317722	-	-	Stansted Express	'one'	77021	62682	71598	77069
317323	317393	-	317723	-	The Tottenham Flyer	Stansted Express	'one'	77022	62683	71599	77070
317324	317394	-	-	317882	-	Stansted Express	'one'	77023	62684	71600	77071
317325	317395	-	-	317883	-	Stansted Express	'one'	77000	62685	71601	77072
317326	317396	-	-	317884	-	Stansted Express	'one'	77025	62686	71602	77073
317327	317397	-	-	317885	-	Stansted Express	'one'	77026	62687	71603	77074
317328	317398	-	-	317886	-	Stansted Express	'one'	77027	62688	71604	77075
317329	-	-	317729	-	-	'one' Stansted Express	'one'	77028	62689	71605	77076
317330	-	-	-	317887	-	Stansted Express	'one'	77043	62704	71606	77077
317331	-	-	-	317888	-	Stansted Express	'one'	77030	62691	71607	77078
317332	-	-	317732	-	-	Stansted Express	'one'	77031	62692	71608	77079
317333	-	-	-	317889	-	Stansted Express	'one'	77032	62693	71609	77080
317334	-	-	-	317890	-	Stansted Express	'one'	77033	62694	71610	77081
317335	-	-	-	317891	-	Stansted Express	'one'	77033	62695	71611	77082
317336	-	-	-	317892	Ilford Depot	Stansted Express	'one'	77033	62696	71612	77083
317337	-	-	-	-	-	WAGN purple	First Capital Connect	77036	62671	71613	77084
317338	-	-	-	-	-	WAGN purple	First Capital Connect	77037	62698	71614	77085
317339	-	-	-	-	-	WAGN purple	First Capital Connect	77038	62699	71615	77086
317340	-	-	-	-	-	WAGN purple	First Capital Connect	77039	62700	71616	77087
317341	-	-	-	-	-	WAGN purple	First Capital Connect	77040	62701	71617	77088
317342	-	-	-	-	-	WAGN purple	First Capital Connect	77041	62702	71618	77089
317343	-	-	-	-	-	WAGN purple	First Capital Connect	77042	62703	71619	77090
317344	-	-	-	-	-	WAGN purple	First Capital Connect	77029	62690	71620	77091
317345	-	-	-	-	Driver John Webb	WAGN purple	First Capital Connect	77044	62705	71621	77092
317346	-	-	-	-	-	WAGN purple	First Capital Connect	77045	62706	71622	77093
317347	-	-	-	-	-	WAGN purple	First Capital Connect	77046	62707	71623	77094
317348	-	-	-	-	Richard A Jenner	WAGN purple	First Capital Connect	77047	62708	71624	77095

★
★ (Asterisk) = 317511 has not been seen in public service since prior to refurbishment last year (June 2006). It is suggested that it was refurbished and almost instantly upon return subject to an arson attack at Enfield Lock. The evidence of it being refurbished came when 317 502 was set fire to on a Hertford East service and a coach was severely damaged. This coach appears to have been sent to join 317511 which supposedly lurks somewhere in Ilford with yet another burnt out coach, and the good coach from 317511 (77014) was placed on 317502. You will be able to notice this, because between the two coaches on 317502 there is the last 3 numbers of the unit number. The 317511 coach still clearly displaying "511" although the front end has been changed accordingly.

Class 317/2

Unit number(s)		Name	Livery	Operator	Vehicle numbers
Cl. 317/2	Cl. 317/6				DTSO	MSO	TSO	DTCO
317349	317649	-	WAGN Outer-suburban	'one'	77200	62846	71734	77220
317350	317650	-	WAGN Outer-suburban	'one'	77201	62847	71735	77221
317351	317651	-	WAGN Outer-suburban	'one'	77202	62848	71736	77222
317352	317652	-	'one'	'one'	77203	62849	71737	77223
317353	317653	-	'one'	'one'	77204	62850	71738	77224
317354	317654	Richard Wells	'one'	'one'	77205	62851	71739	77225
317355	317655	-	'one'	'one'	77206	62852	71740	77226
317356	317656	-	'one'	'one'	77207	62853	71741	77227
317357	317657	-	'one'	'one'	77208	62854	71742	77228
317358	317658	-	'one'	'one'	77209	62855	71743	77229
317359	317659	-	'one'	'one'	77210	62856	71744	77230
317360	317660	-	'one'	'one'	77211	62857	71745	77231
317361	317661	-	'one'	'one'	77212	62858	71746	77232
317362	317662	-	'one'	'one'	77213	62859	71747	77233
317363	317663	-	'one'	'one'	77214	62860	71748	77234
317364	317664	-	'one'	'one'	77215	62861	71749	77235
317365	317665	-	'one'	'one'	77216	62862	71750	77236
317366	317666	-	'one'	'one'	77217	62863	71751	77237
317367	317667	-	'one'	'one'	77218	62864	71752	77238
317368	317668	-	'one'	'one'	77219	62865	71753	77239
317369	317669	-	'one'	'one'	77280	62886	71762	77284
317370	317670	-	'one'	'one'	77281	62887	71763	77285
317371	317671	-	'one'	'one'	77282	62888	71764	77286
317372	317672	-	'one'	'one'	77283	62889	71765	77287