The British Rail Class 745 ''FLIRT'' is a class of

electric multiple unit An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple-unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a numbe ...

passenger train, built by Stadler as part of the

FLIRT Flirting or coquetry is a social and sexual behavior involving spoken or written communication, as well as body language. It is either to suggest interest in a deeper relationship with the other person or, if done playfully, for amusement. I ...

family. The class is built for Greater Anglia for use on their inter-city services and the

Stansted Express The Stansted Express is a direct train service linking London Liverpool Street to London Stansted Airport. It is a sub-brand of Greater Anglia, the current franchise operator of the East Anglia franchise. History In 1986, British Rail (BR) e ...

services. They first entered service on 8 January 2020, after being constructed between 2018 and 2020 in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

History

In August 2016,

Abellio Greater Anglia Greater Anglia (legal name Abellio East Anglia Limited) is a train operating company in Great Britain owned as a joint venture by Abellio, the international arm of the state-owned Dutch national rail operator Nederlandse Spoorwegen, and the J ...

was awarded the

East Anglia franchise The East Anglia franchise is a railway franchise for passenger trains on the Great Eastern Main Line and West Anglia Main Lines in England. It commenced operating in April 2004 when the Anglia and Great Eastern franchises, together with the ...

with a commitment to replace all of the existing fleet. As part of this, an order was placed with

Stadler Rail Stadler Rail is a Swiss manufacturer of railway rolling stock, with an emphasis on regional train multiple units and trams. It is also focused on niche products, such as being one of the last European manufacturers of rack railway rolling stock ...

for twenty 12-carriage

electric multiple units An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple-unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number ...

that would join the

family. These new trains are classified as Class 745s and are divided into two sub-classes: ten 745/0 units and ten 745/1 units. Alongside the related Class 755 units, also in the FLIRT family, the units will be maintained at

Crown Point TMD Crown Point TMD is a train maintenance depot in Norwich, England. History Work began on building Crown Point TMD in 1980. It was built on a triangular 12-acre site between the Great Eastern and Wherry Lines to the east of Norwich station. It ...

. The 745/0 units were built to replace the Class 90 locomotive, Mark 3 carriage and

Driving Van Trailer A Driving Van Trailer (DVT) is a Great Britain, British purpose-built control car railway vehicle that allows the driver to operate with a locomotive in Push-pull train, push-pull formation from the opposite end of a train. A key benefit of ...

loco-hauled sets on the inter-city

London Liverpool Street Liverpool Street station, also known as London Liverpool Street, is a central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in the north-eastern corner of the City of London, in the ward of Bishopsgate Without. It is the t ...

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

services, which they have now fully done. The 745/1 units were built to replace the

Class 379 The British Rail Class 379 ''Electrostar'' is an electric multiple-unit (EMU) passenger train designed and built by the rolling-stock manufacturer Bombardier Transportation. The trains are part of the company's extensive Electrostar family. Th ...

fleet used on

services. The interiors of the units feature USB and plug points, air conditioning, free WiFi, passenger information screens, larger accessible areas, bicycle storage areas and include digital seat reservation displays. All trains have a low floor making the train more accessible for wheelchairs and pushchairs. In comparison with the 745/1 units, the 745/0 units include First Class accommodation, tables and a bistro. A trolley service also operates on certain trains.

Operation

The trains were first approved for passenger service in July 2019 and were expected to enter passenger service in late 2019. However, there was a delay in this as they were still missing their passenger information systems around the time they were due to enter service, which resulted in Greater Anglia having to seek derogation to operate the Class 90 + Mark 3 sets into 2020. Following this, the first 745/0 unit finally entered service on 8 January 2020 on the Norwich to Liverpool Street route and, as of late March 2020, have now fully replaced the loco-hauled fleet. The first Class 745/1 unit entered service on 30 March 2020 and these are also being used on the Norwich to Liverpool Street route, with the first service on the Stansted Express starting on 28 July 2020. As of December 2020, all twenty of the Class 745 units have entered service.

Technical details

Class 745 units of both subclasses are formed of 12 vehicles, which are grouped in pairs that share an unpowered

Jacobs bogie Jacobs bogies (named after Wilhelm Jakobs,, 1858–1942, a German Mechanical engineering, mechanical Railway engineering, railway engineer) are a type of Rail transport, rail vehicle bogie commonly found on Articulated car, articulated railcars an ...

. Conventional semi-permanent couplings join each pair of vehicles together, a difference from other FLIRT models (that use Jacobs bogies throughout) necessary in order to provide energy absorption should a collision or derailment occur. Traction motors are carried on four bogies in each unit; one under each driver's cab and one either side of the centremost coupling. Pantographs are fitted to the second and eleventh vehicles in each unit.

Fleet details

References

External links