#5130

British Rail Class 170

🇬🇧 United Kingdom ·built by Adtranz· from 1999· a British diesel multiple-unit (DMU) train built by Bombardier Transportation

🚆 multiple unit diesel ✓ in service

7 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences

1. 170461 at Knaresborough 260623 (53003968989): Foulger Rail Photos from Basingstoke, UK· CC BY-SA 2.0
2. 170461 at Knaresborough 260623 (53003817811): Foulger Rail Photos from Basingstoke, UK· CC BY-SA 2.0
3. Class 170 Northern at Doncaster: SergeantSpud· CC BY-SA 4.0
4. EMR Class 170 Nottingham: Vanmanyo· CC BY 4.0
5. 66 743 draws the ECS of the Royal Scotsman back into Perth station as a Scotrail Class 170 heads south for Edinburgh: kitmasterbloke· CC BY 4.0
6. Class 170 5 Turbostar DMU (54940207810): Samson Ng . D201@EAL· CC BY-SA 4.0
7. Class 170 Andover Street: kitmasterbloke· CC BY 4.0

Read about it on Wikipedia ↗

what is it?

The British Rail Class 170 Turbostar is a British diesel-hydraulic multiple unit passenger train designed and built by Adtranz, and later by Bombardier Transportation, at Derby Litchurch Lane Works. The Class 170 was derived from the British Rail Class 165 and 166 DMUs, known as the Networker Turbos, of the 1990s. The first units were introduced to service in May 1999, shortly after the privatisation of British Rail; they have been commonly used to operate regional as well as long-distance services, and to a lesser extent suburban services.

who runs it

First ScotRail (2004-2015)Hull Trains South West Trains CrossCountry Midland Mainline First TransPennine Express National Express ScotRail Abellio ScotRail (2015-2022)Arriva Rail North KeolisAmey Wales East Midlands Railway Northern Trains Transport for Wales Rail ScotRail Trains (2022-)

base stats

speed 161 km/htop speed

Bars compare against all trains: 600 km/h (maglev), 1,700 seats; power, weight and number built on a log scale up to 20 MW, 1,000 t and 20,000 built.

fun facts

First built 27 years ago, in 1999.
Top speed is 1.2× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
At full speed it would cover Amsterdam–Utrecht (≈ 40 km) in 15 minutes.
Still in service after 27 years.

multiple unit: A self-propelled train: motors are spread under the passenger cars, so no separate locomotive.

spec sheet

built: 1999
in service from: 1999
status: in service
number built: —
kind: multiple unit
traction: diesel
origin: 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
builders: Adtranz, ALSTOM Transportation Germany, Bombardier
operators: First ScotRail (2004-2015), Hull Trains, South West Trains, CrossCountry, Midland Mainline, First TransPennine Express, National Express ScotRail, Abellio ScotRail (2015-2022), Arriva Rail North, KeolisAmey Wales, East Midlands Railway, Northern Trains, Transport for Wales Rail, ScotRail Trains (2022-)
top speed: 161 km/h
power: —

From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.

family

Sources: Wikidata Q3303833, Wikipedia: British Rail Class 170 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.