British Rail Class 365 Networker Express | |
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Great Northern Class 365 No. 365535 at King's Cross
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The interior of refurbished Standard Class
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In service | 1995 – Current |
Manufacturer | ABB York |
Family name | Networker |
Constructed | 1994–1995 |
Refurbishment | Whole fleet re-liveried from NSE to First Capital Connect in 2006–2007. Second refurbishment: 2013–2016 (Ilford Depot) |
Number built | 41 trainsets |
Number in service | 40 trainsets (one was written off in the Potters Bar rail crash in 2002) |
Formation | 4 cars per unit |
Fleet numbers | 365501 – 365541 |
Operator(s) | Great Northern |
Specifications | |
Car length | 20.89 m (68 ft 6 1⁄2 in) (DMCO) 20.06 m (65 ft 9 3⁄4 in) (Other vehicles) |
Width | 2.81 m (9 ft 2 5⁄8 in) |
Height | 3.77 m (12 ft 4 3⁄8 in) |
Maximum speed | 100 mph (160.93 km/h) |
Weight | 151.62 t (149.23 long tons; 167.13 short tons) |
Power output | 1,256 kW (1,684 hp) |
Electric system(s) |
25 kV 50 Hz AC Overhead 750 V DC Contact shoe (removed) |
Coupling system | Tightlock |
Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge |
The British Rail Class 365 Networker Express are dual-voltage (25 kV AC and 750 V DC) electric multiple-unit trains built by ABB at York from 1994 to 1995. These were the last units to be built at the York factory before its closure. All Class 365 units in service have received front-end cab modifications to equip them with cab air-conditioning, installed by WAGN, the design of which has given them the nickname "Happy Train".
In the early 1990s, the Networker family was entering large-scale service in the Network SouthEast sector – both third-rail 'Networker' EMUs (Class 465/466) and 'Network Turbo' DMUs (Class 165/166) were in service, with proposals for others, including a so-called "Universal Networker", intended as Class 371 and 381, that would have dual-voltage capability. However, by 1992, no work had been done in the development of these due to a lack of funding, so a replacement plan was required. For this, the Class 465 was modified for longer-distance services – a prototype was converted from an existing unit (designated as Class 465/3) to determine suitability, before funding was authorised for the purchase of 41 dual-voltage EMUs, each of four cars. These became the Class 365.
Although specified as a dual-voltage unit, Class 365s have never operated with this capability since they were built with only one system of traction current pickup. Units 365 501 to 365 516, which worked briefly for Network SouthEast before the franchise was given to Connex South Eastern, were originally supplied only with DC shoe gear for use on the 750 V third-rail system (with the exception of unit 365 502, which ran briefly on the AC network during testing and commissioning and was the main reason for this unit being chosen as the one subleased from Connex South Eastern to WAGN to bolster unit availability in the aftermath of the Potters Bar Crash in 2002). In this configuration the maximum speed was 90 mph (145 km/h).