The British Rail Class 325 is an electric multiple unit (EMU) train owned by and operated for the Royal Mail to carry bulk mail. The class consists of four-car sets with dual-voltage 25kV (AC) and 750V (DC) power. While the Class 325 cabs bear a resemblance to the Networker family of DMUs and EMUs, the Class 325 is based on the Class 319.

History

Mock up of a British Rail Class 325 cab at the National Railway Museum

These units, which were ordered in 1994, were initially given the TOPS classification Class 350 which was changed to Class 325 before the trains entered service. The 16 units were built at ABB Derby between 1995 and 1996. They are similar to Class 319 units, sharing the same traction equipment and body design, but are fitted with cabs of the same design as the ABB Networker family. The trains are fitted with large round oleo buffers, and have no gangways between carriages. Each set is made up of four cars, with roller doors in place of sliding ones and no windows. Each car has two roller shutter sliding doors on each side and is designed to hold up to 12

tonne The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the short ton ( United State ...

s. They have a

Brecknell Willis high speed pantograph Brecknell Willis is a British company headquartered in Chard, Somerset, and brand-name of electrification equipment for railways, mostly pantographs and contact shoes. History Henry Brecknell and Sons began operating in 1854. In 1894, it mo ...

to pick up power from the overhead lines, and also a shoe to pick up power off the 750VDC

third rail A third rail, also known as a live rail, electric rail or conductor rail, is a method of providing electric power to a railway locomotive or train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a railway ...

. They cannot work in multiple with any other multiple unit stock, but are fitted with drop-head buck-eye

coupling A coupling is a device used to connect two shafts together at their ends for the purpose of transmitting power. The primary purpose of couplings is to join two pieces of rotating equipment while permitting some degree of misalignment or end mov ...

and can therefore be hauled by locomotives. The units were built in such a way that they could easily be converted for passenger use if no longer required for mail services. The units entered into service carrying parcels and mail from

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

and

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at . They are based at Crewe IEMD – International Electric Maintenance Depot. , the mockup cab built before the construction of the Class 325s, numbered 325000, is currently on display at the

Nene Valley Railway The Nene Valley Railway (NVR) is a preserved railway in Cambridgeshire, England, running between Peterborough Nene Valley and Yarwell Junction. The line is in length. There are stations at each terminus, and three stops en route: Orton Mere, ...

as part of the as-yet-unfinished Night Mail Museum at Overton, having been disposed of from the

National Railway Museum The National Railway Museum is a museum in York forming part of the Science Museum Group. The museum tells the story of rail transport in Britain and its impact on society. It is the home of the national collection of historically significant ...

Operations

At launch, the trains were operated by British Rail's parcel's service, Rail Express Systems (RES). With the

Privatisation of British Rail The privatisation of British Rail was the process by which ownership and operation of the railways of Great Britain passed from government control into private hands. Begun in 1994, it had been completed by 1997. The deregulation of the indust ...

operation was transferred to English Welsh & Scottish Railway. Such work continued alongside Class 86 locomotives up the

West Coast Main Line The West Coast Main Line (WCML) is one of the most important railway corridors in the United Kingdom, connecting the major cities of London and Glasgow with branches to Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Edinburgh. It is one of the busiest ...

and East Coast Main Line until 2003, when Royal Mail withdrew the postal contracts, resulting in decreasing use until the units entered storage following the end of work. When First GBRf gained a new contract for mail transport over Christmas 2004, the Class 325s returned to limited work operating in multiple. Work with locomotive haulage also occurred again, powered by GBRf Class 87s. After a traction reshuffle the Class 325s resumed service with their power cars and without locomotive haulage. GBRf's contract expired in 2010. A new contract for Royal Mail operations, and responsibility for managing the Class 325 fleet, was won by DB Schenker. , seven trains were to be run a day, between London, Warrington and Glasgow via the

, with capacity to be flexible as required. The sets can be worked together to make up four-, eight- or 12-car trains. In 2012, unit number 325010, which had been damaged and was stored as a source of spares for the rest of the fleet, was disposed of by scrapping. From June 2013, DB Schenker re-inaugurated an additional service on the East Coast Main Line from Willesden to Low Fell, just outside Newcastle.

Fleet details

Named units

Named units are as follows: * 325006: ''John Grierson''

History

Operations

Fleet details

Named units

See also

References

Further reading