British Rail Class 165
Encyclopedia
The British Rail
Class 165 Turbo is a fleet of suburban diesel multiple unit
s (DMUs), originally specified by and built for British Rail
, the then United Kingdom
state owned railway operator. They were built by BREL
at York
Works between 1990 and 1992. The trains belong to the Networker family of trains
, and were originally known as Networker Turbos to distinguish them from the electrically propelled members of that family. An express version was subsequently built in the form of the Class 166 Turbo Express
trains.
The class is still in service, and is operated by First Great Western
on its services out of London Paddington station and by Chiltern Railways
on its services out of London Marylebone station. The trains operated by First Great Western, along with that operator's Class 166 trains, are often known as Thames Turbos, while the units operated by Chiltern Railways are known as Chiltern Turbos.
to replace elderly "Heritage" DMUs as well as locomotive-hauled trains on services out of London Paddington and London Marylebone
. The fleet is wide-bodied to take advantage of the gauges of the former Great Western Railway
and Great Central Railway
on whose lines it runs. As a result, it is restricted to these routes.
Both have a 350 hp Perkins 2006-TWH diesel engine on each car, Voith
Turbo-transmissions, and Gmeinder
final drive.
When new, the units were branded as either Chiltern Turbo or Thames Turbo between the two first class windows of the DMCL carriage.
Class 165 units were some of the first trains in Britain to be designed for Driver Only Operation, in cases were a Guard is required they must carry out their door operation duties via a bell system to signal the Drivers to close doors and start the train. This requires the Guard to return to a vacant cab at each station to carry out these duties, examples of this include Chiltern Railways
services north of Banbury
or First Great Western
services on the Cotswolds Line.
for working over the London Underground
lines between Amersham
and Harrow-on-the-Hill
. Automatic Train Protection
is also fitted, making them one of the few classes to have this feature in Britain.
165029-039 were temporarily allocated to the Thames line in 1992. This was necessary as resignalling of Paddington station meant that Network SouthEast could no longer run locomotive-hauled trains to and from Paddington. Insufficient numbers of Class 165/1 Turbo trains had been delivered by this date to operate all the locomotive-hauled services, so all the 3-car Class 165/0 Turbo trains were diverted to the Thames line as replacements. Once sufficient Class 165/1 Turbo trains had been delivered, 165029-039 were returned to the Chiltern line.
Each unit was formed of two outer driving motors, with an additional intermediate motor in the 3-car units. The technical description of the formation is DMSL+MS+DMS. Individual carriages are numbered as follows :
Thirty-seven Class 165/1 Turbo trains were built in 1992 for the Thames line subdivision of Network SouthEast, numbered 165101-137. Like the Chiltern units, both 2-car and 3-car variants were built. Units 165101-117 were delivered as 3-car units, followed by the 2-car units 165118-137. They are re-geared and fitted with bogie yaw dampers to allow top speed of 90 mph (40 m/s), more suitable for mainline use.
Each unit was formed of two outer driving motors, with an additional intermediate motor in the 3-car units. The technical description of the formation is DMCL+MS+DMS. Individual carriages are numbered as follows:
Two coaches of no. 165115 were destroyed in the Ladbroke Grove rail crash
. The remaining driving motor carriage remains as a spare vehicle.
livery for used on routes including fast services from London Marylebone
to Princes Risborough
, Banbury
, Leamington Spa
, Solihull
and Birmingham Snow Hill
, and local services from Aylesbury
to London and Princes Risborough. In this role they replaced the Class 115
DMUs
Two units (165003 and 165005) were later repainted into Thames Trains
livery.
Chiltern Railways
inherited 34 Class 165/0 units from Network SouthEast, and the remaining five others were transferred from Thames Trains in 2004 - leaving Chiltern Railways operating the whole subclass.
After privatisation they continued to work similar services as before, but with the arrival of the faster Class 168 Clubman units the 165 Turbo trains have been pushed down the pecking order, are found less often on expresses to Birmingham, instead generally working on shorter routes, such as stopping services to Aylesbury
, High Wycombe
, and Stratford-upon-Avon
and also the Birmingham Moor Street
- Leamington Spa
short services.
A new depot built at Aylesbury for the maintenance for these trains has been enlarged since its inception during British Rail days. Light maintenance and refuelling is carried out at Wembley LMD and Tyseley Depot and can occasionally be found at Stourbridge LMD
. Units are also regularly stabled at Marylebone and Banbury.
All Chiltern units were refurbished between late 2003 and early 2005. Air conditioning was added and the opening hopper windows replaced with sealed units. A new passenger information system similar to that on the Class 168 Clubman trains, CCTV
cameras, and an area designated for the use of wheelchair-users were added, and the first-class section was removed as Chiltern became a standard-class only railway in 2003. The original 3+2 seating at the outer ends of the driving vehicles was replaced by new 2+2 seating. 3+2 seating was retained in the centre areas of the driving vehicles and throughout the centre vehicles of the three-car units. A cycle/wheelchair area with tip up seats was also added to each unit.
- known as the 'Thames line'; their main destinations included local trains to Reading
, Greenford
, Newbury
, Bedwyn
, Oxford
, Hereford
, Banbury
and Bicester
, and services along the branch lines to Windsor
& Eton
, Henley-on-Thames
, Marlow
and Greenford
.
Following privatisation of British Rail
, the franchise was won by the Go-Ahead Group
who operated it as Thames Trains
from 1996 to 2004 and inheriting the all the Class 165/1 Turbo trains as well as the first five Class 165/0 Turbo trains produced. As part of the franchise change they introduced a new blue, white and green livery. There were two variants of this livery; the Class 165 Turbo carried the non-express variant.
In April 2004, operation of the Thames Trains franchise passed to the First Group, who operated the company as First Great Western Link
. The livery remained the same, but First Great Western 'Link' branding was applied over the Thames Trains logo.
In 2004, due to deliveries of new Class 180 Adelante
units on sister company First Great Western
, the five Class 165/0 Turbo units became redundant and were transferred to Chiltern Railways
.
During 2007, the Class 165/1 Turbo trains were re-liveried with the First Great Western Neon Dynamic Lines livery.
A rail user's group has suggested that Class 165 Turbo and the express variant, Class 166 Turbo Express will work services on the to route after the Thameslink
cascade, subject to line clearance. However, a Network Rail document released in 2011 cast doubts on whether this would actually happen after revealing the gauge between Cardiff and Portsmouth is currently not suitable for Class 166s.
In 2012, First Great Western will be take delivery of Class 180 Adelante units forCotswold Line
service, and three-car Sprinter units for Reading to Basingstoke Line
services, allowing Class 165 and 166 units to be used to reinforce Thames Valley services.
The seats will be retrimmed, interiors repainted, Passenger Information Displays replaced with a GPS based system and toilets upgraded. The refresh work is being carried out in house at Reading Depot, with the first two vehicles already arrived (165109) and five vehicles will be in the works at any one time. The refresh will be completed by the end of March 2012, by which time 151 vehicles will have received the refresh work.
Units 165101, 165102, 165103, 165106, 165109, 165119, 165120, 165123 and 165124 have so far been refreshed and out in traffic.
British Rail
British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
Class 165 Turbo is a fleet of suburban diesel multiple unit
Diesel multiple unit
A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple unit train consisting of multiple carriages powered by one or more on-board diesel engines. They may also be referred to as a railcar or railmotor, depending on country.-Design:...
s (DMUs), originally specified by and built for British Rail
British Rail
British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
, the then United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
state owned railway operator. They were built by BREL
BREL
British Rail Engineering Limited , was the railway systems engineering division of British Rail, until the design and building of trains in the UK was privatised in 1993. On 31 October 1969, the company was incorporated as British Rail Engineering Limited.-Main products:The vast majority of BREL's...
at York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
Works between 1990 and 1992. The trains belong to the Networker family of trains
Networker (train)
The Networker is a family of trains which operate on the UK railway system. They were built in the late 1980s and early 1990s by BREL . The trains were built for the Network SouthEast sector of British Rail...
, and were originally known as Networker Turbos to distinguish them from the electrically propelled members of that family. An express version was subsequently built in the form of the Class 166 Turbo Express
British Rail Class 166
The British Rail Class 166 Turbo Express is a fleet of diesel multiple units , originally specified by and built for British Rail, the then United Kingdom state owned railway operator. They were built by ABB at York Works between 1992 and 1993...
trains.
The class is still in service, and is operated by First Great Western
First Great Western
First Great Western is the operating name of First Greater Western Ltd, a British train operating company owned by FirstGroup that serves Greater London, the South East, South West and West Midlands regions of England, and South Wales....
on its services out of London Paddington station and by Chiltern Railways
Chiltern Railways
Chiltern Railways is a British train operating company. It was set up at the privatisation of British Rail in 1996, and operates local passenger trains from Marylebone station in London to Aylesbury and main-line trains on the Chiltern Main Line to Birmingham Snow Hill with its associated branches...
on its services out of London Marylebone station. The trains operated by First Great Western, along with that operator's Class 166 trains, are often known as Thames Turbos, while the units operated by Chiltern Railways are known as Chiltern Turbos.
Description
Two batches of units were built for different subdivisions of Network SouthEastNetwork SouthEast
Network SouthEast was one of three passenger sectors of British Rail created in 1982. NSE principally operated commuter trains in the London area and inter-urban services in densely populated South East England, although the network reached as far west as Exeter...
to replace elderly "Heritage" DMUs as well as locomotive-hauled trains on services out of London Paddington and London Marylebone
Marylebone station
Marylebone station , also known as London Marylebone, is a central London railway terminus and London Underground complex. It stands midway between the mainline stations at Euston and Paddington, about 1 mile from each...
. The fleet is wide-bodied to take advantage of the gauges of the former Great Western Railway
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
and Great Central Railway
Great Central Railway
The Great Central Railway was a railway company in England which came into being when the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway changed its name in 1897 in anticipation of the opening in 1899 of its London Extension . On 1 January 1923, it was grouped into the London and North Eastern...
on whose lines it runs. As a result, it is restricted to these routes.
Both have a 350 hp Perkins 2006-TWH diesel engine on each car, Voith
Voith
The Voith GmbH, which is headquartered in Germany, is a family-run corporation in the mechanical engineering sector with worldwide operations....
Turbo-transmissions, and Gmeinder
Gmeinder
Gmeinder GmbH was a German locomotive and engineering company based in Mosbach. Its products included diesel engines, small locomotives and other railway locomotive parts...
final drive.
When new, the units were branded as either Chiltern Turbo or Thames Turbo between the two first class windows of the DMCL carriage.
Class 165 units were some of the first trains in Britain to be designed for Driver Only Operation, in cases were a Guard is required they must carry out their door operation duties via a bell system to signal the Drivers to close doors and start the train. This requires the Guard to return to a vacant cab at each station to carry out these duties, examples of this include Chiltern Railways
Chiltern Railways
Chiltern Railways is a British train operating company. It was set up at the privatisation of British Rail in 1996, and operates local passenger trains from Marylebone station in London to Aylesbury and main-line trains on the Chiltern Main Line to Birmingham Snow Hill with its associated branches...
services north of Banbury
Banbury railway station
Banbury railway station serves the town of Banbury in Oxfordshire, England. The station is currently operated by Chiltern Railways, on the Chiltern Main Line, and has four platforms in use.-History:...
or First Great Western
First Great Western
First Great Western is the operating name of First Greater Western Ltd, a British train operating company owned by FirstGroup that serves Greater London, the South East, South West and West Midlands regions of England, and South Wales....
services on the Cotswolds Line.
Class 165/0
Thirty-nine Class 165/0 Turbo trains were built in 1990-91 for the Chiltern subdivision of Network SouthEast, numbered 165001-039. Both 2-car and 3-car variants were built. Units 165001-028 were delivered as 2-car units, and were followed by eleven 3-car units numbered 165029-039. These vehicles have a top speed of 75 mph (34 m/s). They are fitted with tripcocksTrain stop
Part of a railway signalling system, a train stop or trip stop is a train protection device that automatically stops a train if it attempts to pass a signal when the signal aspect and operating rules prohibit such movement, or if it attempts to pass at an excessive speed.- Basic operation :The...
for working over the London Underground
London Underground
The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...
lines between Amersham
Amersham station
Amersham station is a London Underground and National Rail station in the town of Amersham, in the Chiltern district of Buckinghamshire, England.Amersham station is a terminus of the London Underground's Metropolitan Line...
and Harrow-on-the-Hill
Harrow-on-the-Hill station
Harrow-on-the-Hill station is a London Underground station served by National Rail and London Underground trains. It is located between College Road and Lowlands Road in the Greenhill area of Harrow, about half a mile north of the locality from which it takes its name.-Railway geography:The...
. Automatic Train Protection
Automatic Train Protection
Automatic Train Protection in Great Britain refers to either of two implementations of a train protection system installed in some trains in order to help prevent collisions through a driver's failure to observe a signal or speed restriction...
is also fitted, making them one of the few classes to have this feature in Britain.
165029-039 were temporarily allocated to the Thames line in 1992. This was necessary as resignalling of Paddington station meant that Network SouthEast could no longer run locomotive-hauled trains to and from Paddington. Insufficient numbers of Class 165/1 Turbo trains had been delivered by this date to operate all the locomotive-hauled services, so all the 3-car Class 165/0 Turbo trains were diverted to the Thames line as replacements. Once sufficient Class 165/1 Turbo trains had been delivered, 165029-039 were returned to the Chiltern line.
Each unit was formed of two outer driving motors, with an additional intermediate motor in the 3-car units. The technical description of the formation is DMSL+MS+DMS. Individual carriages are numbered as follows :
- 58801-58833 and 58873-58878 - DMSL
- 55404-55414 - MS
- 58834-58866 and 58867-58872 - DMS
Class 165/1
Each unit was formed of two outer driving motors, with an additional intermediate motor in the 3-car units. The technical description of the formation is DMCL+MS+DMS. Individual carriages are numbered as follows:
- 58953-58969 and 58879-58898 - DMCL
- 55415-55431 - MS
- 58916-58932 and 58933-58952 - DMS
Two coaches of no. 165115 were destroyed in the Ladbroke Grove rail crash
Ladbroke Grove rail crash
The Ladbroke Grove Rail Crash was a rail accident which occurred on 5 October 1999 at Ladbroke Grove, London, England. Thirty-one people were killed and more than 520 injured...
. The remaining driving motor carriage remains as a spare vehicle.
Chiltern lines
The 165/0 units were originally delivered in Network SouthEastNetwork SouthEast
Network SouthEast was one of three passenger sectors of British Rail created in 1982. NSE principally operated commuter trains in the London area and inter-urban services in densely populated South East England, although the network reached as far west as Exeter...
livery for used on routes including fast services from London Marylebone
Marylebone station
Marylebone station , also known as London Marylebone, is a central London railway terminus and London Underground complex. It stands midway between the mainline stations at Euston and Paddington, about 1 mile from each...
to Princes Risborough
Princes Risborough
Princes Risborough is a small town in Buckinghamshire, England, about 9 miles south of Aylesbury and 8 miles north west of High Wycombe. Bledlow lies to the west and Monks Risborough to the east. It lies at the foot of the Chiltern Hills, at the north end of a gap or pass through the Chilterns,...
, Banbury
Banbury
Banbury is a market town and civil parish on the River Cherwell in the Cherwell District of Oxfordshire. It is northwest of London, southeast of Birmingham, south of Coventry and north northwest of the county town of Oxford...
, Leamington Spa
Leamington Spa
Royal Leamington Spa, commonly known as Leamington Spa or Leamington or Leam to locals, is a spa town in central Warwickshire, England. Formerly known as Leamington Priors, its expansion began following the popularisation of the medicinal qualities of its water by Dr Kerr in 1784, and by Dr Lambe...
, Solihull
Solihull
Solihull is a town in the West Midlands of England with a population of 94,753. It is a part of the West Midlands conurbation and is located 9 miles southeast of Birmingham city centre...
and Birmingham Snow Hill
Birmingham Snow Hill station
Birmingham Snow Hill is a railway station and tram stop in the centre of Birmingham, England, on the site of an earlier, much larger station built by the former Great Western Railway . It is the second most important railway station in the city, after Birmingham New Street station...
, and local services from Aylesbury
Aylesbury
Aylesbury is the county town of Buckinghamshire in South East England. However the town also falls into a geographical region known as the South Midlands an area that ecompasses the north of the South East, and the southern extremities of the East Midlands...
to London and Princes Risborough. In this role they replaced the Class 115
British Rail Class 115
The British Rail Class 115 diesel multiple units were 41 high density sets which operated the outer-suburban services from Marylebone usually to destinations such as High Wycombe, Aylesbury and Banbury which are on the Chiltern Main Line and Great Central Main Line...
DMUs
Two units (165003 and 165005) were later repainted into Thames Trains
Thames Trains
Thames Trains was a British railway company, owned by the Go-Ahead Group, franchised to run regional and suburban trains from London Paddington station to destinations in the home counties west of London like Slough, to Worcester, Hereford and Stratford-upon-Avon, and the Reading to Gatwick Airport...
livery.
Chiltern Railways
Chiltern Railways
Chiltern Railways is a British train operating company. It was set up at the privatisation of British Rail in 1996, and operates local passenger trains from Marylebone station in London to Aylesbury and main-line trains on the Chiltern Main Line to Birmingham Snow Hill with its associated branches...
inherited 34 Class 165/0 units from Network SouthEast, and the remaining five others were transferred from Thames Trains in 2004 - leaving Chiltern Railways operating the whole subclass.
After privatisation they continued to work similar services as before, but with the arrival of the faster Class 168 Clubman units the 165 Turbo trains have been pushed down the pecking order, are found less often on expresses to Birmingham, instead generally working on shorter routes, such as stopping services to Aylesbury
Aylesbury railway station
Aylesbury railway station is a railway station in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, England and is a major stop on the London to Aylesbury Line from Marylebone station via Amersham. It is 37.75 miles from Aylesbury Station to Marylebone Station...
, High Wycombe
High Wycombe railway station
High Wycombe railway station is situated in High Wycombe in South Buckinghamshire. The station is served by Chiltern Railways trains on the Chiltern Main Line from Marylebone towards Birmingham Snow Hill. It is situated between Beaconsfield and Saunderton stations.-History:The station was built...
, and Stratford-upon-Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon railway station
Stratford-upon-Avon railway station is a railway station that serves the town of Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire, England. It was once a through station on the Great Western Railway route from Birmingham to Cheltenham, but has been the terminus of the line since 1976.There are plans for a new...
and also the Birmingham Moor Street
Birmingham Moor Street railway station
Birmingham Moor Street railway station is one of three main railway stations in the city centre of Birmingham, England. The Grade II listed old station building has been partially renovated to its 1930s condition at a cost of £11 million....
- Leamington Spa
Leamington Spa railway station
Leamington Spa railway station serves the town of Leamington Spa, in Warwickshire, England. It is situated on Old Warwick Road towards the southern edge of the town centre.-History:...
short services.
A new depot built at Aylesbury for the maintenance for these trains has been enlarged since its inception during British Rail days. Light maintenance and refuelling is carried out at Wembley LMD and Tyseley Depot and can occasionally be found at Stourbridge LMD
Stourbridge Junction railway station
Stourbridge Junction railway station is a railway station on the Birmingham, Worcester and Kidderminster Line in West Midlands, England. Stourbridge Town Branch Line runs from the station to Stourbridge town centre...
. Units are also regularly stabled at Marylebone and Banbury.
All Chiltern units were refurbished between late 2003 and early 2005. Air conditioning was added and the opening hopper windows replaced with sealed units. A new passenger information system similar to that on the Class 168 Clubman trains, CCTV
Closed-circuit television
Closed-circuit television is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors....
cameras, and an area designated for the use of wheelchair-users were added, and the first-class section was removed as Chiltern became a standard-class only railway in 2003. The original 3+2 seating at the outer ends of the driving vehicles was replaced by new 2+2 seating. 3+2 seating was retained in the centre areas of the driving vehicles and throughout the centre vehicles of the three-car units. A cycle/wheelchair area with tip up seats was also added to each unit.
Thames lines
The Class 165/1 Fleet were built for services from London Paddington along the Great Western Main LineGreat Western Main Line
The Great Western Main Line is a main line railway in Great Britain that runs westwards from London Paddington station to the west of England and South Wales. The core Great Western Main Line runs from London Paddington to Temple Meads railway station in Bristol. A major branch of the Great...
- known as the 'Thames line'; their main destinations included local trains to Reading
Reading, Berkshire
Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London....
, Greenford
Greenford
Greenford is a large suburb in the London Borough of Ealing in west London, UK. It was historically an ancient parish in the former county of Middlesex. The most prominent landmarks in the suburb are the A40, a major dual-carriageway; Horsenden Hill, above sea level; the small Parish Church of...
, Newbury
Newbury, Berkshire
Newbury is a civil parish and the principal town in the west of the county of Berkshire in England. It is situated on the River Kennet and the Kennet and Avon Canal, and has a town centre containing many 17th century buildings. Newbury is best known for its racecourse and the adjoining former USAF...
, Bedwyn
Great Bedwyn
Great Bedwyn is a village and civil parish in the east of the English county of Wiltshire.-Location:Great Bedwyn is on the River Dun about south-west of Hungerford and south-east of Marlborough, Wiltshire. The Kennet and Avon Canal and the West of England Main Line railway follow the Dun and pass...
, Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, Hereford
Hereford
Hereford is a cathedral city, civil parish and county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, southwest of Worcester, and northwest of Gloucester...
, Banbury
Banbury
Banbury is a market town and civil parish on the River Cherwell in the Cherwell District of Oxfordshire. It is northwest of London, southeast of Birmingham, south of Coventry and north northwest of the county town of Oxford...
and Bicester
Bicester
Bicester is a town and civil parish in the Cherwell district of northeastern Oxfordshire in England.This historic market centre is one of the fastest growing towns in Oxfordshire Development has been favoured by its proximity to junction 9 of the M40 motorway linking it to London, Birmingham and...
, and services along the branch lines to Windsor
Windsor, Berkshire
Windsor is an affluent suburban town and unparished area in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England. It is widely known as the site of Windsor Castle, one of the official residences of the British Royal Family....
& Eton
Eton, Berkshire
Eton is a town and civil parish in Berkshire, England, lying on the opposite bank of the River Thames to Windsor and connected to it by Windsor Bridge. The parish also includes the large village of Eton Wick, 2 miles west of the town, and has a population of 4,980. Eton was in Buckinghamshire until...
, Henley-on-Thames
Henley-on-Thames
Henley-on-Thames is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in South Oxfordshire, England, about 10 miles downstream and north-east from Reading, 10 miles upstream and west from Maidenhead...
, Marlow
Marlow, Buckinghamshire
Marlow is a town and civil parish within Wycombe district in south Buckinghamshire, England...
and Greenford
Greenford
Greenford is a large suburb in the London Borough of Ealing in west London, UK. It was historically an ancient parish in the former county of Middlesex. The most prominent landmarks in the suburb are the A40, a major dual-carriageway; Horsenden Hill, above sea level; the small Parish Church of...
.
Following privatisation of British Rail
Privatisation of British Rail
The privatisation of British Rail was set in motion when the Conservative government enacted, on 19 January 1993, the British Coal and British Rail Act 1993 . This enabled the relevant Secretary of State to issue directions to the relevant Board...
, the franchise was won by the Go-Ahead Group
Go-Ahead Group
The Go-Ahead Group plc is a rail and bus operating company that was created following the privatisation of the UK's train and bus industries. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.-Early history:...
who operated it as Thames Trains
Thames Trains
Thames Trains was a British railway company, owned by the Go-Ahead Group, franchised to run regional and suburban trains from London Paddington station to destinations in the home counties west of London like Slough, to Worcester, Hereford and Stratford-upon-Avon, and the Reading to Gatwick Airport...
from 1996 to 2004 and inheriting the all the Class 165/1 Turbo trains as well as the first five Class 165/0 Turbo trains produced. As part of the franchise change they introduced a new blue, white and green livery. There were two variants of this livery; the Class 165 Turbo carried the non-express variant.
In April 2004, operation of the Thames Trains franchise passed to the First Group, who operated the company as First Great Western Link
First Great Western Link
First Great Western Link was a train operating company owned by First Group that provided train services, on a franchise basis, from Paddington Station to destinations such as Greenford, Slough, Reading, Didcot, Oxford, Goring and Streatley, Henley-on-Thames, Newbury, Bedwyn, Hereford, Worcester...
. The livery remained the same, but First Great Western 'Link' branding was applied over the Thames Trains logo.
In 2004, due to deliveries of new Class 180 Adelante
British Rail Class 180
The Class 180 is a type of British diesel multiple unit train built by Alstom between 2000 and 2001 for use on then-new express services by First Great Western . They were built at Washwood Heath in Birmingham and are part of the Coradia 1000 family along with the Class 175. FGW stopped using the...
units on sister company First Great Western
First Great Western
First Great Western is the operating name of First Greater Western Ltd, a British train operating company owned by FirstGroup that serves Greater London, the South East, South West and West Midlands regions of England, and South Wales....
, the five Class 165/0 Turbo units became redundant and were transferred to Chiltern Railways
Chiltern Railways
Chiltern Railways is a British train operating company. It was set up at the privatisation of British Rail in 1996, and operates local passenger trains from Marylebone station in London to Aylesbury and main-line trains on the Chiltern Main Line to Birmingham Snow Hill with its associated branches...
.
During 2007, the Class 165/1 Turbo trains were re-liveried with the First Great Western Neon Dynamic Lines livery.
A rail user's group has suggested that Class 165 Turbo and the express variant, Class 166 Turbo Express will work services on the to route after the Thameslink
Thameslink
Thameslink is a fifty-station main-line route in the British railway system running north to south through London from Bedford to Brighton, serving both London Gatwick Airport and London Luton Airport. It opened as a through service in 1988 and by 1998 was severely overcrowded, carrying more than...
cascade, subject to line clearance. However, a Network Rail document released in 2011 cast doubts on whether this would actually happen after revealing the gauge between Cardiff and Portsmouth is currently not suitable for Class 166s.
In 2012, First Great Western will be take delivery of Class 180 Adelante units forCotswold Line
Cotswold Line
The Cotswold Line is an railway line between and in England.-Route:The line comprises all or part of the following Network Rail routes:*GW 200 from Oxford*GW 310 from Wolvercot Junction*GW 300 from Norton Junction*GW 340 from Worcester Shrub Hill...
service, and three-car Sprinter units for Reading to Basingstoke Line
Reading to Basingstoke Line
The Reading to Basingstoke Line is a short railway link between the South Western Main Line and the Great Western Main Line, constructed by the Great Western Railway between 1846 and 1848. The line is served by First Great Western local services between Reading and Basingstoke, which stop at the...
services, allowing Class 165 and 166 units to be used to reinforce Thames Valley services.
London and Thames Valley Refresh
Towards the end of January 2010, First Great Western have announced an £8,000,000 refresh programme to their fleet of Classes 165 and 166 Turbo DMU trains.The seats will be retrimmed, interiors repainted, Passenger Information Displays replaced with a GPS based system and toilets upgraded. The refresh work is being carried out in house at Reading Depot, with the first two vehicles already arrived (165109) and five vehicles will be in the works at any one time. The refresh will be completed by the end of March 2012, by which time 151 vehicles will have received the refresh work.
Units 165101, 165102, 165103, 165106, 165109, 165119, 165120, 165123 and 165124 have so far been refreshed and out in traffic.
Current fleet details
| Class | Operator | No. Built | Year Built | Cars per Set | Unit nos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Class 165/0 | Chiltern Railways Chiltern Railways Chiltern Railways is a British train operating company. It was set up at the privatisation of British Rail in 1996, and operates local passenger trains from Marylebone station in London to Aylesbury and main-line trains on the Chiltern Main Line to Birmingham Snow Hill with its associated branches... |
28 | 1990-91 | 2 | 165001 - 165028 |
| 11 | 3 | 165029 - 165039 | |||
| Class 165/1 | First Great Western First Great Western First Great Western is the operating name of First Greater Western Ltd, a British train operating company owned by FirstGroup that serves Greater London, the South East, South West and West Midlands regions of England, and South Wales.... |
17 | 1992 | 3 | 165101 - 165117 |
| 20 | 2 | 165118 - 165137 |