British Rail Class 318

British Rail Class 318
British Rail Class 318
	ScotRail 318262 at Hyndland in 2016
	The interior of a ScotRail refurbished Class 318
In service	1986–present
Manufacturer	BREL York
Family name	BR Second Generation (Mark 3)
Replaced	First Generation DMUs
Constructed	1985–1986
Refurbished	1st Refurbishment 2005–2007; Hunslet-Barclay, Kilmarnock; 2nd Refurbishment 2013–2017; Wabtec, Doncaster
Number built	21 trainsets
Formation	3 cars per trainset
Fleet numbers	318250–318270
Operator(s)	Abellio ScotRail
Specifications
Car length	DTSOL/DTSO: 19.83 m (65 ft 1 in); MSO: 19.92 m (65 ft 4 in)
Width	2.82 m (9 ft 3 in)
Height	3.70 m (12 ft 2 in)
Doors	Double leaf sliding, pneumatically operated
Maximum speed	90 mph (145 km/h)
Weight	DTSOL: 30 t (29.5 long tons; 33.1 short tons); MSO: 50.9 t (50.1 long tons; 56.1 short tons); DTSO: 26.6 t (26.2 long tons; 29.3 short tons); total: 107.5 t (105.8 long tons; 118.5 short tons)
Power output	1,072 kW (1,438 hp)
Acceleration	max. 0.56 m/s2 (2.0 km/(h⋅s); 1.3 mph/s)
Electric system(s)	25 kV 50 Hz AC Overhead
Current collection method	Stone Faiveley AMBR Pantograph
Braking system(s)	Disc
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge

The British Rail Class 318 is an electric multiple unit (EMU) train, which operates in west central Scotland. The units were introduced on 29 September 1986 as part of the electrification of the Ayrshire Coast Line between Glasgow Central and Ayr/Ardrossan with alternating current (AC) overhead lines. Usage was extended to Largs in January 1987. They were also used on the Inverclyde Line in small numbers. The trains currently operate Argyle, Cathcart Circle Line, North Clyde Line and Inverclyde Line services. As of 2021, these are the oldest EMUs in Scotland, having been in revenue-earning service for 35 years.

Background and history[]

Class 318 253 at Fairlie in the first month of operation

Class 318 in original orange and black Strathclyde Partnership for Transport livery

Effectively a 3-car version of the Class 317, 21 of these British Rail Mark 3-based units were built by BREL York works between 1985–1986 to replace the elderly Class 101, Class 107, Class 120 and Class 126 diesel multiple units (DMUs) which had worked the Glasgow South Western sector for nearly 30 years. The technical description of the units are DTSO+MSO+DTSO, consisting of a central motor car (with a roof mounted Stone Faiveley AMBR pantograph and four Brush TM2141 traction motors located under the floor within both bogies (two motors per bogie)) with a driving trailer at either end. The units run on the standard 25 kV AC overhead line system, and are standard class throughout.

The units have a maximum speed of 90 mph (145 km/h) and up to four sets can be worked in multiple to form a 12-car set, although platforms are only capable of handling 8-car trains. The 318 can also operate in multiple with the slightly newer Class 320 in a six car formation, which is regularly used on the North Clyde and Argyle Lines. Upon the introduction of the Class 334s onto Ayrshire/Inverclyde routes in 2001, both the 334 and 318 were found operating these lines together.

There were two named units: 318259 Citizens' Network and 318266 Strathclyder. Both have since been denamed

Accidents and incidents[]

Front view of 318254 shortly after the crash at Largs station

In July 1995, units 318254 and 318262 were operating a Glasgow Central to Largs service when a braking system failure resulted in the train overshooting the end of the platform at Largs railway station. The train crashed through shops at the front of the station, and out into Main Street, Largs. Being very early in the morning, there were no serious injuries. The cab of vehicle 77244 (from set 318254) needed to be completely rebuilt, but 318262 managed to move by rail back to Shields depot. The reconstruction of the station building took almost ten years to complete.^[3]

On 16 January 2008, unit 318267 was involved in a minor collision at Glasgow Central station. Class 334 unit 334017 was working the 08:24 passenger service from Gourock when it collided with the empty, stationary 318 whilst preparing to terminate at Glasgow Central. The 334 was in the process of braking and was travelling at less than 4 mph (6 km/h) when the collision occurred. Four passengers were slightly injured; however only one required hospital attention, and was transferred to Glasgow Southern General hospital in a taxi.^[4]

Refurbishment[]

2005-2007 refurbishment[]

318267 in SPT livery with original front end at Gourock in July 2006

318257 with revised front end at Glasgow Central Low Level in 2011

Between 2005 and 2007, all Class 318s underwent a refurbishment by Brush Traction which involved the removal of the corridor connection on the driver's cars allowing the provision of a full width drivers cab.^[5] The passenger accommodation was also improved, with new passenger door controls, a repainted interior, new seat moquette and flooring, and the installation of new grab handles. New lighting was also fitted, with similar shades to the Class 320 units along with LED lights for cab indicators and marker lights. New passenger information systems, similar to those seen on other trains were fitted.^[5]

In September 2008 the Scottish Government's agency Transport Scotland announced that all ScotRail trains (including from the Strathclyde Partnership for Transport) would be eventually repainted in a new, blue livery with white Saltire markings on the carriage ends. Since the units had recently been refurbished and repainted, they would be the last in the EMU fleet to be repainted in Saltire livery. In the interim, all units had their "SPT Rail" naming removed, leaving them with an unbranded SPT livery.

2013-2017 refurbishment[]

Two Class 318s stand at Partick wearing both pre and post-refurbishment liveries in 2017.

The Class 318 units received a second refurbishment between October 2013 and October 2017.

The work included:

Repainting into ScotRail saltire livery
An internal refurbishment that included an internal repaint, new floor vinyl and new blue 'saltire' seat coverings.
Fluorescent lights replaced with LED lighting.
New floor-level lighting in the door vestibules.
Small toilet replaced with a large accessible toilet, as recently fitted to the Class 320 fleet.
Any corrosion repairs to bodywork

Unit 318251 headed south to Wabtec's Doncaster Works on 5 October 2013 and returned to Scotland on 28 March 2014.^{[citation needed]}

The refurbishment programme of the Class 318 fleet was completed in October 2017.

Fleet details[]

Class	Operator	No. Built	Year Built	Cars per Set	Unit nos.
Class 318	Abellio ScotRail	21	1985-1986	3	318250 - 318270

References[]

^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "Class 318". The Railway Centre. Archived from the original on 22 April 2019. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b "Class 318". Eversholt Rail. Archived from the original on 22 April 2019. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
^ March 2005 edition of First ScotRail's newsletter, firstInsight
^ "Passengers hurt as trains collide". BBC Online. 16 January 2008. Archived from the original on 29 November 2020. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Class 318 Refurbishment Archived 8 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine - Brush Traction. Retrieved 20 March 2011.

show v t British Rail Engineering Limited Mark 3 derived family
Diesel	Class 150 Class 154 Class 210 Class 450 (NIR)
Electric	Class 316 Class 317 Class 318 Class 319 Class 320 Class 321 Class 322 Class 325 Class 442 Class 455 Class 456 Class 457
Hydrogen	Class 600
Multi-mode	Class 768 Class 769 Class 799

show v t Electric multiple units of Great Britain
AC units (300–399):	300 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 (I) 316 (II) 316 (III) 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 325 331 (I)¹ 331 (II) 332 333 334 341 342 345 350 (I)² 350 (II) 357 360 365 370 371 373 374 375 376 377 378 379 380 381 385 387 390 395 397
AC units DC units (700–899):	700 701 705³ 707 710 711 (I)³ 711 (II)⁴ 717 720 730 745 755⁵ 756⁵ 768⁵ 769⁵ 777 799⁵ 800⁵ 801 802⁵ 803 (I)⁶ 803 (II) 804⁷ 805⁵ 807 810⁵
AC units (pre-TOPS):	AM1 AM2 AM3 AM4 AM5 AM6 AM7 AM8 AM9 AM10 AM11 LB&SCR CP LB&SCR CW LB&SCR SL MR Lancaster units
DC units (400–599):	401 402 403 404 405 410 411 412 413 414 415 416 418 419 420 421 422 423 424 427 430 431 432 438 442 444 445 446 447 450 455 456 457 458 460 465 466 471 480 482 (I) 482 (II) 483 484 485 486 487 488 489 499 (I) 501 502 503 504 505 506 507 508 510
DC units (Original TOPS):	411 412 413 414 421 422 423 424 431 432 441 442 451 452 453 461 462 491 492
DC units (pre-TOPS):	LMS electric units LNER Tyneside units LNWR electric units LOR electric units LYR electric units Mersey Railway electric units MSJ&AR electric units NER electric units W&CR electric units
Battery units:	BEMU 230⁵
Southern Railway designations:	2-BIL 2-EPB 2-HAL 2-HAP 2-NOL 2-PAN 2-PEP 2-SAP 2-SL 2-TIS 2-WIM 3-CEP 3-CIG 3-COP 3-SUB 3-TC 3-TIS 4-BEP 4-BIG 4-BUF 4-CAP 4-CEP 4-CIG 4-COM 4-COR 4-DD 4-DES 4-EPB 4-GRI 4-JOP 4-LAV 4-PEP 4-PER 4-REP 4-RES 4-SUB 4-TC 4-TEP 4-VEC 4-VEG 4-VEP 4-VIP 4-VOP 5-BEL 5-DES 5-TCB 5-VEC 5-WES 6-CIT 6-PAN 6-PUL 6-REP 7-TC 8-DIG 8-GAT 8-MIG 8-VAB GLV MLV TLV
Miscellaneous units:	398 399 499 (II) 555 599 994
Families:	1959 design 1972 design Mark 2-derived Mark 3-derived A-Train APT Aventra Citylink Civity D-Train Desiro Electrostar Flirt Juniper Networker TGV Tube⁸ Velaro
Notes:	1: Renumbered as Class 332 2: Renumbered as Class 325 3: Renumbered as Class 701 4: Renumbered as Class 720/6 5: Bi- or tri-mode unit 6: Renumbered as Class 802/2 7: Renumbered as Class 810 8: Grouping of different rolling stock types built to loading gauge of London Underground deep tube lines
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