British Rail Class 745

The British Rail Class 745 FLIRT is a class of electric multiple unit train, built by Stadler as part of the FLIRT family.[1] The class is built for Greater Anglia for use on their inter-city services and the Stansted Express services. They first entered service on 8 January 2020, after being constructed between 2018 and 2020 in Switzerland.

British Rail Class 745 FLIRT
745010 at Colchester in 2020
The standard class interior of a Class 745
In service8 January 2020 – present
ManufacturerStadler Rail
Built atBussnang, Switzerland
Family nameFLIRT[1]
Replaced
Constructed2018–20
Number built20 units[1]
Formation12 carriages[1]
Capacity757 seated (53 folding seats) (745/0)
767 seated (45 folding seats) (745/1)[1]
Operator(s)Greater Anglia[2]
Depot(s)Crown Point TMD
Specifications
Train length236.6 m (776 ft 3 in)[1]
Width2.72 m (8 ft 11 in)[1]
Height3.95 m (13.0 ft)
Floor height960 mm (3 ft 1 3⁄4 in)[1]
Maximum speed100 mph (160 km/h)[1]
Power output5,200 kW (7,000 bhp)[1]
Acceleration0.9 m/s2 (3.2 km/(h⋅s); 2.0 mph/s)[1]
Electric system(s)25 kV AC (OHLE)[1]
Current collection methodPantograph
UIC classificationBo'2'2+2'2'2+2'2'Bo+Bo'2'2+2'2'2+2'2'Bo[1]
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge[1]

History

In August 2016, Abellio Greater Anglia was awarded the East Anglia franchise with a commitment to replace all of the existing fleet. As part of this, an order was placed with Stadler Rail for twenty 12-carriage electric multiple units that would join the FLIRT family.[2] 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.[3]

The 745/0 units were built to replace the Class 90 locomotive, Mark 3 carriage and Driving Van Trailer loco-hauled sets on the inter-city London Liverpool Street to Norwich services, which they have now fully done. The 745/1 units were built to replace the Class 379 fleet used on Stansted Express 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 to the 745/1 units, the 745/0 units include First Class accommodation, tables and a bistro. A trolley service also operates on certain trains. [4]

Operation
745007 at Liverpool Street next to its predecessor, 90012

The trains were first approved for passenger service in July 2019 and were expected to enter passenger service in late 2019.[5][6] 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.[7]

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.[8][9][10]

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.[11][12]

As of December 2020, all twenty of the Class 745 units have now entered revenue earning passenger service with Greater Anglia, just under a year after the class were first introduced in January 2020.

Fleet details
Class Operator No. Built Year Built Cars per Set Unit nos. Notes
745/0 Greater Anglia 10 2018-20 12 745001–745010 Intercity[13]
745/1 10 745101–745110 Stansted Express[13]
Greater Anglia Class 745/0
Greater Anglia Class 745/1 (Stansted Express)

See also
  • Class 755 - A similar class of bi mode multiple units also being built by Stadler Rail for Greater Anglia.

References
  1. "Stadler Datasheet" (PDF). Stadler Rail. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
  2. "Stadler and Bombardier to supply trains for Abellio East Anglia franchise". Railway Gazette. DVV Media International. 10 August 2016. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
  3. "Stadler signs largest UK order with Abellio East Anglia and Rock Rail". Stadler Rail. 5 October 2016. Archived from the original on 27 May 2017. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
  4. "Interior detail of Class 745".
  5. Fletcher, Steve (10 July 2019). "Interoperability authorisation - Stadler Bussnang AG Class 745/0 AND 745/1 Electric Multiple Units - Authorised 10 July 2019" (PDF). Gov.uk. Office of Rail and Road. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
  6. Jones, Ben (October 2019). Milner, Chris (ed.). "Anglia 'FLIRTs' get formal launch". Traction & Stock Track Record. The Railway Magazine. Vol. 165 no. 1423. Horncastle: Mortons Media Group. p. 104. ISSN 0033-8923.
  7. "Class 745s to enter traffic soon with Greater Anglia - but there could be a Mk 3 derogation". www.railmagazine.com. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
  8. Geater, Paul. "East Anglia's new Intercity train carries its first passengers". East Anglian Daily Times. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
  9. 2020-01-09T07:30:00+00:00. "Greater Anglia's first Stadler inter-city trainset enters service". Railway Gazette International. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
  10. Geater, Paul. "End of the line for traditional trains on Greater Anglia routes". East Anglian Daily Times. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  11. Holden, Michael (28 July 2020). "Brand new Stansted Express trains enter service in London". RailAdvent. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  12. 2020-07-28T13:55:00+01:00. "Stansted Express Class 745/1 trainsets enter passenger service". Railway Gazette International. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  13. "UK Flirt (Class 745 & Class 755) - Project at an Advanced Stage of Development TSI CCS 2016/919/EU" (PDF). gov.uk. Department of Transport. 23 August 2017. Retrieved 15 January 2018.

New Trains section of Greater Anglia Website

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