#5991
British Rail Class 315
🇬🇧 United Kingdom ·built by British Rail Engineering Limited· from 2022· class of 61 British 4-car electric multiple units
4 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. 315844 Forest Gate 2015-09-13 XAM-E1: Hugh Llewelyn· CC BY-SA 2.0
- 2. 19870823-LiverpoolStreet-Class315-F: Copyright ©1987-2009 K. Krallis, SV1XV· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 3. Class 315 at Forest Gate, February 2015: Edgepedia· CC BY-SA 4.0
- 4. Class 315s at London Liverpool Street: Matthew Black from St Louis, MO, US· CC BY-SA 2.0
what is it?
The British Rail Class 315 is a class of alternating current (AC) electric multiple unit (EMU) trains that were built by British Rail Engineering Limited at Holgate Road Carriage Works in York between 1980 and 1981 to replace the Class 306 units. It was a variant of unit derived from British Rail's 1971 prototype suburban EMU design which, as the BREL 1972 family, eventually encompassed 755 vehicles across Classes 313, 314, 315, 507 and 508. Revenue services with Class 315 units commenced in 1980 and continued until 9 December 2022.
who runs it
base stats
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 4 years ago, in 2022.
- Served for 42 years (1980–2022).
multiple unit: A self-propelled train: motors are spread under the passenger cars, so no separate locomotive.
spec sheet
- built
- 2022
- in service from
- 1980
- retired
- 2022
- status
- retired
- number built
- 61
- kind
- multiple unit
- traction
- electric
- origin
- 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- builders
- British Rail Engineering Limited
- operators
- Greater Anglia, London Overground, National Express East Anglia, West Anglia Great Northern, Eastern Region of British Railways, First Great Eastern, TfL Rail
- top speed
- 121 km/h
- power
- —
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q751888, Wikipedia: British Rail Class 315 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.