British Rail Class 378

The Class 378 Capitalstar is a type of electric multiple unit which is part of Bombardier Transportation's Electrostar family and has been ordered for the new London Overground network. The class is derived from the Class 376 trains currently used by Southeastern, with the same wider metro-style sliding doors for more efficient boarding and alighting, which are faster and more reliable than plug doors, although they do not provide as much insulation for heating and cooling purposes. However, they also have significant differences, such as fully longitudinal seating similar to that used on London Underground rolling stock to give more standing room, which is necessary for the high passenger volume metro-style services expected to be run on London Overground. The units were initially announced as coming in two separate batches.

History
The deal between Bombardier and Transport for London was initially for a total of 152 individual cars costing approximately £223 million, with deliveries beginning from September 2008, when two trains underwent a 14 week test on the North London Line. The initial contract also contained an option to purchase additional cars up to a total of 216. A newly constructed depot near New Cross Gate station would be responsible for the maintenance of the new fleet.

On 4 July 2007, TfL announced it had ordered a further 36 Capitalstar carriages for £36 million. The order comprised three additional four car units for the East London Line, and 24 additional carriages to extend the original 3 car units for the North London Line into 4 car units to be delivered in 2011.

In February 2008, TfL announced that the new stock would now be leased by London Overground, rather than purchased directly, from a newly formed ROSCO named QW Rail Leasing. The terms of the lease also allow for an increase in the order to 216 vehicles. In April 2008, TfL announced it had taken an option to obtain a further seven 4-car dual voltage units, which would be delivered between 2009 and 2010, filling the full 216 vehicle option.

On 16 September 2008, the first complete unit was unveiled and began testing on Bombardier's test track prior to being delivered for testing on the national network. Units 378012/201 - 206/208/210/211/213/214/216 - 220/222 - 231 have now been delivered to Willesden Depot, and all except 378205/206 are in service. Units 378135 - 154/232/233 are at New Cross Gate Depot for East London Line services. As 378234 has returned to Derby, no units are currently undergoing testing at Ashford Chart Leacon Depot. 378007/009/015/021 are at Derby for conversion to Class 378/2 units. Unit 378001 was stationed at New Cross Gate Depot for testing purposes but was returned to Bombardier Transportation's Litchurch Lane Works in Derby. It has now entered service as 378201. 378004 (temporarily made up to 4 cars) was the first unit to run under power over the East London Line on 5 October 2009 and left the East London Line on 2 November 2009. 378255 - 257 are under construction and will be delivered to LOROL in early 2011.

The Class 378 was originally planned to enter service in January 2009, but was delayed for seven months because of the economic recession causing several parts suppliers to become bankrupt, causing a shortage of parts for Bombardier Transportation which also affected delivery of Class 377/5 units to First Capital Connect. The first Class 378 unit entered service on 29 July 2009. On the first public unveiling of the Class 378, TfL announced that they had reached an agreement to procure a further three dual voltage units, taking the total number to 57. These units are intended to enhance the fleet once the South London Line is brought under London Overground's control.

The trains will not initially be used on the Gospel Oak to Barking Line, as it is not electrified. Although electrification is a long-term aim, it is not included in the short or medium term plans of either TfL or Network Rail. As a consequence, TfL ordered eight Class 172 Turbostar units for use on the Gospel Oak to Barking Line.

Features and fitted equipment
In addition to the usual two-tone horn, Class 378 units are also fitted with a London Underground type kettle whistle (referred to as a depot whistle). A tripcock device is also installed as per the existing London Overground Class 313 stock. The tripcock is the London Underground failsafe equivalent of the Train Protection & Warning System used on the National Rail network.

External CCTV is displayed automatically on releasing the doors via an in-cab monitor, effectively removing the need for Driver-Only Operation (DOO) equipment such as monitors/mirrors at platforms. This is similar in design to that already used on Southern's Electrostar units.

Internal CCTV footage can be viewed directly by the driver on an in-cab monitor, meaning the driver can immediately view the affected area of the train (in addition to speaking to the person) if a passenger operates the passenger alarm.

The driver has the option of releasing the doors so that passengers can use individual door buttons to open as required. The driver can also release and open all the doors on one side, in a similar fashion to tube trains, but this option is not used in passenger service and is only intended for evacuation purposes.

The units are fitted with three radio systems, National Radio Network which is used over the North London Line, Cab Secure Radio used over the Watford DC route, West London line and will be used beyond New Cross on the South London line, and finally GSM-R which will be brought into use on the East London Line between Dalston and New Cross. 378/1 units are equipped only with GSM-R and CSR radio as they are not intended to operate over routes equipped with NRN only.

The trains feature air conditioning, real time passenger information systems, wheelchair access, the ability for level access, and different seat moquette colours to highlight priority seating.

Class 378 suppliers
The Class 378 has been built by a number of worldwide suppliers:
 * Main contractor  = Bombardier, Derby
 * Traction motors = Bombardier, Sweden
 * Bogies = Bombardier, Germany
 * Air conditioning = Liebherr, Germany
 * Interior panelling = Gilberts, Blackpool & KTK, China
 * Cabling = Time 24, Derby; Simclar Scotland
 * Brake Control = Knorr Bremse, Melksham
 * Friction Brake and Actuation = Faiveley Transport
 * Door mechanisms = IFE, Austria (Knorr Bremse)
 * Batteries = Saft, France
 * Seats = Kiel, Germany
 * Passenger Information System = Whiteley, UK
 * Couplers = Dellner, Sweden
 * CCTV = March Networks, Canada
 * Gangways = Hübner, Germany
 * Shoegear and Pantograph = Brecknell Willis, UK
 * Shock absorbers = ZF Sachs, Germany

Fleet
The Class 378 fleet will ultimately be formed of two separate subclasses:
 * Class 378/0 (North London Line, West London Line, Watford DC Line) - 24 three-car units were originally ordered. These units will have dual voltage capability, taking current at 25kV AC from overhead wires or 750 V DC from third rail and will be initially designated as Class 378/0. These trains replaced the Class 313 units in 2010. Additional carriages are being delivered in late 2010 to convert these units to four-car. At this point all units will be renumbered into the 378/2 series - see below.
 * Class 378/1 (East London Line) - 20 four-car units were ordered. These units operate services on the extended East London Line, and are 750V DC only. These trains, which are designated Class 378/1, have replaced the A60/A62 Stock previously used on the line. They entered service on 27 April 2010, on the preview service between Dalston Junction and New Cross / New Cross Gate. The service was extended to Crystal Palace and West Croydon on 23 May 2010. In common with all trains in the Electrostar family, these DC only units have a recessed roof space for the fitting of a pantograph and other equipment for dual-voltage working in the future if necessary.
 * Class 378/2 - 13 additional dual voltage four-car units ordered for the North London, West London, East London and Watford DC lines. The Class 378/0 units will be redesignated in this sequence (see above) as each unit receives its additional carriage in late 2010. 378201-378208, 378210-211, 378213-224, 378225-378233 is in service.