British Rail Class 313

British Rail Class 313
Southern Class 313 at Brighton in 2010
Interior of a Southern refurbished Class 313/2 unit
In service1976–2023
ManufacturerBritish Rail Engineering Limited
Built atHolgate Road Works, York
Family nameBREL 1972
Replaced
Constructed1976–1977
Refurbished
  • 1997–2001 (Silverlink)
  • 1999–2003 (WAGN)
  • 2010–2011 (Southern)
Scrapped2019, 2023
Number built64[1]
Number preserved2
Number scrapped62
Successor
Formation
  • 3 cars per unit:
  • DMSO-PTSO-BDMSO
Diagram
  • DMSO vehicles: EA204
  • TSO vehicles: EH210
  • BDMSO vehicles: EI201
Capacity
  • As built: 232 seats
  • Great Northern: 231 seats
  • Overground: 202 seats
  • Silverlink: 228 seats
  • Southern: 202 seats
Owners
Operators
Depots
Lines served
Specifications
Car body constructionSteel underframe with aluminium body and roof [note 1]
Car length
  • DM vehs.: 19.800 m (64 ft 11.5 in)
  • Trailers: 19.920 m (65 ft 4.3 in)
Width2.820 m (9 ft 3.0 in)
Height3.582 m (11 ft 9.0 in)
Floor height1.146 m (3 ft 9.1 in)
DoorsDouble-leaf pocket sliding, each 1.288 m (4 ft 2.7 in) wide (2 per side per car)
Wheel diameter840 mm (33 in) new[6]
WheelbaseOver bogie centres:
14.170 m (46 ft 5.9 in)
Maximum speed75 mph (120 km/h)
Weight
  • DMSO vehs.: 35.87 t (35.30 LT; 39.54 ST)
  • PTSO vehs.: 31.28 t (30.79 LT; 34.48 ST)
  • BDMSO vehs.: 37.55 t (36.96 LT; 41.39 ST)
  • Total: 104.70 t (103.05 LT; 115.41 ST)[6]
Traction motors8 × GEC G310AZ
(82 kW (110 hp) each, 4 per motor car)
Power output656 kW (880 hp)
Tractive effort90.7 kN (20,400 lbf) starting[6]
Acceleration0.79 m/s2 (2.6 ft/s2)[7]
Deceleration0.92 m/s2 (3.0 ft/s2)[7]
Electric system(s)
Current collector(s)
UIC classificationBo′Bo′+2′2′+Bo′Bo′
BogiesBREL BX1
Minimum turning radius70.4 m (231 ft 0 in)
Braking system(s)Electro-pneumatic (disc) and rheostatic
('Westcode' three-step)[8]
Safety system(s)
Coupling systemTightlock
Multiple workingWithin class
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Notes/references
Specifications as at August 1982[5] except where otherwise noted.

The British Rail Class 313 was a dual-voltage electric multiple unit (EMU) train built by British Rail Engineering Limited's Holgate Road carriage works between February 1976 and April 1977. They were the first production units that were derived from British Rail's 1971 prototype suburban EMU design which, as the BREL 1972 family, eventually encompassed 755 vehicles over five production classes (313, 314, 315, 507 and 508).[9] They were the first second-generation EMUs to be constructed for British Rail and the first British Rail units with both a pantograph for 25 kV 50 Hz AC overhead lines and contact shoe equipment for 750 V DC third rail supply.[10] They were, additionally, the first units in Britain to employ multi-function automatic Tightlock couplers, which include electrical and pneumatic connections allowing the coupling and uncoupling of units to be performed unassisted by the driver whilst in the cab.

The Class 313 units were the oldest EMUs operating on the National Rail network in Great Britain prior to their withdrawal in 2023, having entered service in 1976.[11] However, the even older 1972 Stock and 1973 Stock are still in service on London Underground.

  1. ^ "PEP-talk: the BR second generation EMU". D&E Files. Rail Express Modeller. No. 222. Horncastle: Mortons Media Group. October 2022. pp. M14–M15. ISSN 1362-234X.
  2. ^ Griffiths, E. (9 March 2023). "Class 313 put out to pasture". Rail Technology Magazine. Manchester: Cognitive Publishing.
  3. ^ Russell, D. (December 2022). "Class 313". Units. Rail Express. No. 319. Horncastle: Mortons Media Group. p. 27. ISSN 1362-234X.
  4. ^ a b c "Southern '313s' – is the end now in sight?". Rail Magazine. No. 977. Peterborough: Bauer Consumer Media. 22 February 2023. pp. 38–43.
  5. ^ a b Vehicle Diagram Book No. 210 for Electric Multiple Units (including A.P.T.) (PDF). Derby: Mechanical & Electrical Engineering Department, British Railways Board. August 1982. EA204, EH210, EI201 (in work pp. 12–13, 278–279, 386–387). Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 January 2015. Retrieved 25 April 2023 – via Barrowmore MRG.
  6. ^ a b c Bull & Cronin 1978a, p. 77, Appendix D.
  7. ^ a b Bull & Cronin 1978a, p. 71, Class 313 EMU: Performance Characteristics.
  8. ^ Bull & Cronin 1978a, p. 72, Class 313 EMU: Brake System.
  9. ^ "The twilight zone". Railways Illustrated. No. 249. November 2023. pp. 50–53.
  10. ^ Haresnape, B.; Swain, A. (1989). Third Rail DC Electric Multiple-Units. British Rail Fleet Survey. Shepperton: Ian Allan Publishing. pp. 82–84. ISBN 978-0-7110-1760-3. OCLC 20691674.
  11. ^ "Southern '313s' are network's veterans". Rail Magazine. No. 949. Peterborough: Bauer Consumer Media. 26 January 2022. p. 30.


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