British Rail Class 153

Arriva Trains Wales 153323 at Cardiff Central in August 2014

Transport for Wales has a fleet of 24 Class 153s. They are normally used on rural branch lines – such as the Heart of Wales Line from Shrewsbury to Swansea and on local stopping services from Crewe to Shrewsbury via Nantwich – but are also used on some mainline services. One is used daily on the short Cardiff Queen Street to Cardiff Bay shuttle.

Following a timetable change in December 2006, Arriva Trains Wales lost three of its then-11 Class 153 units, leaving it with eight.[17] Two were transferred to East Midlands Trains with the other going to First Great Western. In October 2018 all eight passed with the franchise to Transport for Wales, who acquired a further five from Great Western Railway in April 2019, five from Abellio Greater Anglia in December 2019, four from East Midlands Railway in January 2020 and another two from EMR in November 2020, bringing the total number now up to 24.[18][19][20]

As at February 2020, Transport for Wales was the only train operating company to have modified 153s to comply with the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 which come into effect on 1 January 2020.[21]

East Midlands Trains 153357 at Alsager in June 2015

East Midlands Trains inherited many examples of Class 153 units, receiving six from Central Trains, three from National Express East Anglia and four former First Great Western units that had been stored at Eastleigh Works. In December 2007, East Midlands Trains received two from Arriva Trains Wales and two from Northern Rail.[22] All passed with the East Midlands franchise to East Midlands Railway in August 2019. In January 2020, four were transferred to Transport for Wales. At one point in April 2020, only 3 EMR Class 153s were in service, following the implementation of an emergency timetable due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with all others being stored out of use as surplus to requirement, with 5 going off-lease on the 1 July 2020, those being 153302, 318, 368, 372, 374 and 382. As of July 2020, 5 are in service.

All of the East Midlands Trains Class 153 units were repainted into the local lines livery of the company.

In July 2010, the first unit 153319 entered Neville Hill TMD for a C6 refresh programme. The work included corrosion repair, internal refresh and a cab refurbishment programme.[23]

East Midlands Railway's fleet of Class 153s are used on rural routes:

• Nottingham to Worksop (one diagram uses two units)
• Nottingham to Matlock via Derby
• Nottingham to Skegness
• Leicester to Lincoln
• Peterborough to Lincoln and Doncaster
• Newark North Gate to Grimsby Town (to Cleethorpes after 1900 and during summer)
• Derby to Crewe via Stoke-on-Trent

Arriva Trains Northern 153304 at Doncaster in July 2003

First North Western 153316 at Carlisle in August 2004

Northern Rail 153352 at Lancaster in May 2015

The Northern Rail franchise started operations in December 2004. It inherited the fleets previously operated by Arriva Trains Northern (ATN) and First North Western (FNW), whose routes the new franchise incorporated. Northern Rail's successor Arriva Rail North at one point operated the largest fleet of Class 153 units.

Northern Rail inherited a fleet of eight units from FNW, which were used on local services around Manchester, Chester and on Lancaster and Barrow-in-Furness to Carlisle and Preston to Ormskirk services. The fleet was repainted in the now obsolete North Western Trains blue and gold livery. Prior to becoming part of Northern, four former FNW units were transferred to the Arriva Trains Wales franchise, since the lines operated by FNW in Wales were transferred to this new company.

A larger fleet of 12 units were inherited from ATN. They are used on various local services around Leeds, Doncaster and Sheffield. One regular job is the Cleethorpes to Barton-on-Humber services, which see a unit stable at Cleethorpes overnight and Sunday. Other jobs are the Lincoln to Scunthorpe via Retford and Sheffield, and the Saturday only Sheffield to Cleethorpes via Retford.

In December 2007, two units were taken off lease from Northern and transferred to East Midlands Trains.

In the first half of 2018, five units were transferred from Great Western Railway on a temporary basis to boost capacity until the new Class 195 units enter service; three of these then moved to Abellio ScotRail in 2019, with the remainder to follow in 2020. On 1 March 2020, Northern's Class 153 units transferred to new operator Northern Trains.

Regional Railways 153374 at Severn Beach in March 1994

Regional Railways operated Class 153s on many branch lines throughout the Midlands, Wales and Northern England. They were initially allocated to Heaton (15), Cardiff Canton (9), Plymouth Laira (10), Crown Point (16) and Tyseley (20).[12] Due to their multiple working ability, Class 153s were often seen with other classes of Sprinter units such as Class 150 and Class 156s. Class 153s were often found working services from;

• Newcastle to Carlisle
• Peterborough to Lincoln
• Nottingham to Birmingham New Street via Leicester
• Crewe to Derby
• Ipswich to Lowestoft and Felixstowe
• Norwich to Great Yarmouth and Sheringham

The class was a common sight in Regional Railways areas.

In the lead up to privatisation of British Rail, ownership of the fleet passed to Angel Trains (30) and Porterbrook (40) in April 1994.[24] Upon privatisation, they were initially operated by Anglia Railways, Central Trains, First North Western, North Spirit and Wales & West.[12]

Wessex Trains 153377 at Bristol Temple Meads in January 2006

First Great Western 153373 at Starcross in November 2013

First Great Western took over the Wessex Trains fleet upon the merger of the two franchises. Wessex Trains had, in turn, inherited its fleet of 13 units from its predecessor, Wales & West.

Units were used on local services in Cornwall, Devon, and around Bristol. They were also used on Bristol Temple Meads to Weymouth, Southampton Central, and Worcester Foregate Street services, and the Swindon via Melksham to Southampton Central service.

In mid-2004, Wessex Trains received a further two units from Central Trains to allow it to lengthen some services.

Following the introduction of a new timetable in December 2006, four units were taken off lease and stored at Eastleigh Works. After a period in storage these four units were pressed into service with East Midlands Trains.

In December 2007, First Great Western received an additional Class 153 from Arriva Trains Wales, bringing its total to 12. This unit arrived in the blue with gold star livery of former operator First North Western.

For summer 2011, two London Midland Class 153s were allocated to the South West for strengthening purposes, based at Exeter TMD for the duration. This allocation was eventually made permanent as a result of London Midland keeping three Class 150 units after the new Class 172s entered service. This brought First Great Western's number of Class 153 units up to 14.

Nine of those 14 units later left the fleet, with the remaining five moving to Transport for Wales in April 2019 after being displaced by internal cascading.[18]

Anglia Railways 153335 at Cambridge in July 2003

National Express East Anglia 153314 in former One livery at Norwich in June 2008

Anglia Railways inherited a small fleet of seven units, for local services in Suffolk and Norfolk. Services operated by these units included Ipswich to Cambridge, Peterborough, Felixstowe and Lowestoft, and Norwich to Lowestoft, Great Yarmouth and Cromer. One set was also hired to First Great Eastern for use on the Gainsborough line.

In 2004, Anglia Railways became part of the Greater Anglia franchise operated by One which was subsequently renamed National Express East Anglia. Two units left the franchise to East Midlands Trains. During 2012, Porterbrook began refurbishing the body and interiors and repainting them in base white with red doors and Greater Anglia logos.

In 2014, a rolling refurbishment of Abellio Greater Anglia's Class 153s commenced, which included new interior panels, tables, carpets and lighting. All were replaced by Class 755s in late 2019.[25][26] These then moved to Transport for Wales in December 2019 to cover for delays with its new rolling stock.[19]

Central Trains 153375 at Lincoln in May 2004

London Midland 153365 at Nuneaton in December 2008

West Midlands Trains used eight Class 153 DMUs on commuter lines in the West Midlands including the Leamington Spa to Nuneaton line and the Marston Vale line between Bedford and Bletchley. After Class 172 from London Overground and Class 230s' deployment on those two lines, they were used with Class 170s and Class 172s on Birmingham-Hereford and Snow Hill Lines.

All eight were inherited from Central Trains in their livery. All were repainted into London Midland city lines livery upon refurbishment at Eastleigh Works. The Class 153s that were used on the Stourbridge Town branch line have been replaced by new built lightweight Class 139 railcars. This was due to take place in December 2008, but the delivery of the new units was delayed, and after several months of bustitution London Midland reintroduced diesel services from 15 March pending the completion of Class 139 testing. The Class 139 received passenger certification from Network Rail in March 2009[27] and the service finally began three months later.[28] In December 2020 the final Class 153s were withdrawn from service and put into long-term storage.[29] Before withdrawal, they mostly operated on the Birmingham-Hereford line.

Some units have received names:[30]

• 153306 – Edith Cavell
• 153309 – Gerard Fiennes
• 153311 – John Constable
• 153314 – Delia Smith
• 153316 – John "Longitude" Harrison - inventor of the Marine Chronometer
• 153322 – Benjamin Britten
• 153326 – Ted Ellis
• 153335 – Michael Palin
• 153362 – Dylan Thomas 1915–1953 (denamed)
• 153369 – Pamela Anderson
• 153376 – X24 – Expeditious
• 153383 – Ecclesbourne Valley Railway 150 Years[31]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to British Rail Class 153.

• Fox, Peter; Hughes, Barry (1994). DMUs & Channel Tunnel Stock. British Railways Pocket Book No.3 (7th ed.). Platform 5. ISBN 978-1-872524-59-7.
• Marsden, Colin J. (2011). Traction Recognition (2nd ed.). Ian Allan. ISBN 978-0-7110-3494-5.
• Marsden, Colin J. (2014). Traction Recognition (3rd ed.). Surrey: Ian Allan. ISBN 978-0-7110-3792-2.