British Rail Class 380

Class 380 is the designation given to a class of electric multiple unit trains which operate on the national railway network in Scotland.

Initially, the trains will be used on First ScotRail services in Ayrshire and the Inverclyde region of Scotland and had originally been intended for the cancelled Glasgow Airport Rail Link. The units are based on the Desiro design, the construction was awarded to Siemens and announced by Transport Scotland on 11 July 2008.

In September commissioning of the fleet was suspended by ScotRail due to technical issues with the trains. The reliability issues and extended commissioning period are expected to result in an initially reduced service on the new Airdrie-Bathgate line.

The first Class 380 units entered passenger service on 9 December 2010 on the 1530 service from Glasgow Central - Ayr.

Description
A total of 38 sets were ordered, comprising 22 three-car and 16 four-car units. Stations along the Ayrshire Coast Line and Inverclyde Line will undergo platform extension to allow the use of the longer trains. The trains were specified to have full access for the disabled and to have streamlined end corridor connections.

The fleet will be based at Glasgow Shields Road TMD. They will replace the current Class 334 and Class 318 previously serving the Ayrshire and Inverclyde routes. In 2010, the older Class 334 stock will be cascaded onto North Clyde Line services when it is extended via the Airdrie-Bathgate Rail Link to Edinburgh Waverley. The 318s will be cascaded on to the Argyle Line.

The Class 380s are also to take over from Class 322 on the Edinburgh - North Berwick and Edinburgh - Dunbar services from May 2011.

On the unveiling of the first completed vehicle, it was announced that the fleet would be divided into two sub-groups, with the 3-car units classed as 380/0 and the 4-car as 380/1.

March 2011
Due to technical faults, only nine Class 380s are presently in service. Other are currently being tested and delivered to Polmadie depot.

May 2011
It is expected that the Class 380s will be in full service by this time, allowing the Class 322s to cascade onto North Berwick/Dunbar routes.

Mock-up
A Class 380 mock-up arrived at Glasgow Central station on 17 May 2009. It was then moved to Glasgow's Museum of Transport and remained there until refurbishment. The mock-up is no longer available.