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British Rail Class 460 "Juniper"
File:Unit 460008 at East Croydon.JPG

Gatwick Express Alstom Class 460 Juniper No. 460008, in full Gatwick Express livery, passes through East Croydon non stop with a service bound for Gatwick Airport

In service2000 -
ManufacturerAlstom
Family nameJuniper
Constructed2000 - 2001
Number built8 trainsets
Formation8 cars per trainset
Fleet numbers460001 - 460008
OperatorSouthern
(Gatwick Express)
Specifications
Maximum speed100 mph (Template:Convert/outsep)
Electric system(s)750 V DC (third rail)
Gauge{{#switch:sg
|3mm=3 mm (0.118 in)
|4mm=4 mm (0.157 in)
|4.5mm=4.5 mm (0.177 in)
|4.8mm=4.8 mm (0.189 in)
|6.5mm=6.5 mm (0.256 in)
|6.53mm=6.53 mm (0.257 in)
|8mm=8 mm (0.315 in)
|8.97mm=8.97 mm (0.353 in)
|9mm=9 mm (0.354 in)
|9.42mm=9.42 mm (0.371 in)
|10.5mm=10.5 mm (0.413 in)
|11.94mm=11.94 mm (0.470 in)
|12mm=12 mm (0.472 in)
|12.7mm=12.7 mm (0.5 in)
|13mm=13 mm (0.512 in)
|13.5mm=13.5 mm (0.531 in)
|14mm=14 mm (0.551 in)
|14.125mm=14.125 mm (0.556 in)
|14.2mm=14.2 mm (0.559 in)
|14.28mm=14.28 mm (0.562 in)
|14.3mm=14.3 mm (0.563 in)
|15.76mm=15.76 mm (0.620 in)

The British Rail Class 460 (or 8Gat) electrical multiple units were built by Alstom at Washwood Heath from 2000-01. These units are part of Alstom's "Juniper" family of units, which also includes Classes 334 and 458. The eight Class 460 units are, as of August 2009, the latest to be classified under the TOPS "4XX" series for DC 3rd Rail EMUs on the Southern Region.

Description[]

File:460 First Class Interior.JPG

The interior of First Class aboard the Gatwick Express Class 460

File:460002 East Croydon.JPG

Gatwick Express Class 460 No. 02 passes East Croydon in Delta Airlines advertising livery

When the National Express Group won the Gatwick Express franchise, part of the agreement was to replace the ageing Class 73/2 locomotives, British Rail Class 488 coaching stock, and Class 489 motor luggage vans. Therefore, an order was placed with Alstom for the construction of eight 8-car Class 460 units.[1] Deliveries of the new units commenced in 2000. The units featured controversial sloping cab-ends, which quickly earned them the nickname "Darth Vaders" amongst rail enthusiasts. A Juniper Coupler is located under the removable nose cone. Each eight carriage unit is formed of a driving motor luggage van, two intermediate 1st-class/composite trailers, two intermediate 2nd-class motor carriages, an intermediate 2nd-class trailer, another 2nd-class motor carriage, and a 2nd-class driving motor (DMLFO+TFO+TCO+MSO+MSO+TSO+MSO+DMSO).[1][2] The units are numbered 460001-008, although only the last two digits are carried on the cab ends. The full six digit unit number is carried on the side of the luggage vans.[1] On 22 June 2008, the fleet was transferred to Southern, as the Gatwick Express service was incorporated into the Southern franchise.[3] The 460s are allocated to Stewarts Lane TMD in South London. From December 2010, the 460s are gradually being phased out from Gatwick Express service.

Fleet details[]

Class Operator No. Built Year Built Cars per Set Unit nos.
Class 460 Gatwick Express 8 2000-01 8 460001 - 460008

The formations of the 8Gat unit is shown below. Under normal circumstances, the luggage van (DMLFO) is at the 'London' end of the train (i.e. closest to the station concourse at London Victoria).

Unit No. DMLFO TFO TCO MSO MSO TSO MSO DMSO
460001 67901 74401 74411 74421 74431 74441 74451 67911
460002 67902 74402 74412 74422 74432 74442 74452 67912
460003 67903 74403 74413 74423 74433 74443 74453 67913
460004 67904 74404 74414 74424 74434 74444 74454 67914
460005 67905 74405 74415 74425 74435 74445 74455 67915
460006 67906 74406 74416 74426 74436 74446 74456 67916
460007 67907 74407 74417 74427 74437 74447 74457 67917
460008 67908 74408 74418 74428 74438 74448 74458 67918

File:Class 460 Gatwick Express Diagram.PNG

Future[]

Under the government's Rolling Stock Plan, South West Trains are due to receive up to 140 additional vehicles. Porterbrook, the owner of the Class 458 fleet, has proposed that part of this could be met through lengthening the 4-car Junipers to 5-cars using the mechanically similar Class 460s. 24 Class 458s would be lengthened using vehicles from the Class 460s, while the remaining Class 460 vehicles would be reformed into six new 5-car sets, leaving additional vehicles for use as spare parts.[4] Under the "Sussex Route Utilisation Strategy" document published on 28 January 2010, Network Rail stated that the class 460 fleet would be removed from Gatwick Express operations by Dec 2010 to strengthen operations elsewhere, possibly augmenting the similar Class 458 units working for South West Trains on routes out of London Waterloo.[5]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Class 460 Gatwick Express - Southern E-Group - Retrieved 2010-12-26.
  2. Other Juniper EMUs - Southern Electric Group. Retrieved 2010-12-26.
  3. Gatwick Express service to remain. BBC News (2007-04-04). Retrieved on 2009-12-31.
  4. "Porterbrook plans third-rail EMU cascade" (2010). Modern Railways 67 (737): 72–73. 
  5. http://www.southernelectric.org.uk/tocnews/gex460news.html

Template:Commonscat Template:Coradia/Juniper

nl:Class 460 pl:British Rail Class 460 simple:British Rail Class 460

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