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Unlike the South West Trains and West Coast Main Line Desiros, the Class 360 lacks inter-unit gangways. This was a late design change, as the Health and Safety Executive was not happy with the driver's visibility with the previous design's gangway cab for Driver Only Operation The Class 360 is a modern unit with air conditioning, rapid acceleration technology and is powered by overhead lines with a top speed of 100 mph (Template:Convert/outsep). The Class 360 will do 0-60 in just under 45 seconds, making it the fastest accelerating train in the National Express East Anglia fleet.

Current operations[]

United Kingdom[]

National Express East Anglia[]

First Great Eastern ordered 21 4-car units to replace their elderly Class 312 slam-door units. They entered service in 2003, and by mid-2004 had completely replaced the old trains. They are primarily used on London Liverpool Street to Harwich, Clacton-on-Sea and during afternoon/evening rush hour Ipswich services, usually running as 4 carriages to Harwich and 8-12 carriages to Clacton-on-Sea and Ipswich. They occasionally replace the Class 321 on services to Walton-on-the-Naze, Southend, Braintree and Southminster. They do not run to Upminster. Since they were built, First Group has lost the franchise to the National Express Group, who operate the Great Eastern routes as part of their 'one' franchise. Though operated by National Express East Anglia, the 360 class is not maintained by the franchise but is under contract from Siemens for routine maintenance at Ilford Depot near London. Until 2008, all trains stayed in the purple First Group livery. Some still retain the First Group purple colour but with no vinyls, because of the anti-vandal paint used. A repaint would require a complete sanding down before any paint could be applied. Some of the 360s have been re-liveried into National Express livery by the application of vinyl wrap. Only 360115 is in this livery; the rest of the fleet are in plain blue with a white strip with National Express branding. The toilets are being re-fitted with new flooring and repainted panels, giving a better look. All 21 360s were recently overhauled underneath at Northampton Depot.

Heathrow Connect[]

Heathrow Connect runs five 5-car units operating London Paddington-Heathrow Airport stopping trains. They entered service on 12 June 2005. These units were originally intended as Class 350s for prospective spot hire. In 2010, one unit (360205) was transferred to Heathrow Express to operate its Heathrow Central-Terminal 4 shuittle.[1]

Thailand[]

Nine Desiro Class 360/2 units have been supplied for the Suvarnabhumi Airport Link (SARL) in Thailand. Four are four-car sets for Express services running non-stop from City Air Terminal at Makkasan to the airport. Another five sets are three-cars for City Line Service stopping at all stations from Phayathai to the airport.[2]

Fleet details[]

Class Cars per Set No. Built No. Range Operator Year Built
Class 360/1 4 21 360101-360121 Abellio Greater Anglia 2002-2003
Class 360/2 5 4 360201-360204 Heathrow Connect 2004-2005
1 360205 Heathrow Express
4 4 1012-1014-1013-1011
1022-1024-1023-1021
1032-1034-1033-1031
1042-1044-1043-1041
Suvarnabhumi Airport Express 2007-2008
3 5 2012 - 2013 - 2011
2022 - 2023 - 2021
2032 - 2033 - 2031
2042 - 2043 - 2041
2052 - 2053 - 2051
Suvarnabhumi Airport City Line

File:Class 360 National Express East Anglia Diagram.PNG File:Class 360 Heathrow Connect Diagram.PNG

Gallery[]

References[]

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  1. Railway Herald News Journal - Railway Herald Issue 228, p6
  2. "Bangkok Desiro deliveries begin", Railway Gazette International, September 10, 2007.

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de:Britische Klasse 360 nl:Class 360 pl:British Rail Class 360 simple:British Rail Class 360

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