#4768· Class 322
British Rail Class 322
🇬🇧 United Kingdom ·built by British Rail Engineering Limited· from 1990· British electric multiple unit train type
.jpg)
2 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. 322481-Bradford-P1560562 (48220654856): citytransportinfo· CC0
- 2. First livery at Wilsons lane 050621: kitmasterbloke· CC BY 2.0
what is it?
The British Rail Class 322 was a class of electric multiple unit passenger train built by British Rail Engineering Limited in 1990 for the Stansted Express service from London Liverpool Street to Stansted Airport. After becoming surplus to requirements on this route, the fleet saw further use with a number of other operators.
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 36 years ago, in 1990.
- 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.
- 996 kW is about 12 family cars (~85 kW each) flat out.
- Weighs about as much as 24 African elephants (~6 t each).
- 20 m long: about 4 cars parked nose to tail.
- Seats 309: 6 full city buses (~50 seats each).
- Served for 32 years (1990–2022).
multiple unit: A self-propelled train: motors are spread under the passenger cars, so no separate locomotive.
spec sheet
- built
- 1990
- in service from
- 1990
- retired
- 2022
- status
- retired
- number built
- 5
- kind
- multiple unit
- traction
- electric
- origin
- 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- builders
- British Rail Engineering Limited, Holgate Road carriage works
- operators
- Arriva Rail North, First ScotRail (2004-2015), Greater Anglia, Network SouthEast, First North Western, Northern Rail, Northern Trains, National Express East Anglia, National Express ScotRail, Silverlink, West Anglia Great Northern
- top speed
- 161 km/h
- power
- 996 kW
- gauge
- 1,435 mm standard gauge
- electric system
- overhead
- wheel arrangement
- 2′2′+Bo′Bo′+2′2′+2′2′
- formation
- 4 cars per unit:, DTSL, Driver's cab, Trailer car, Standard class (open saloon), Lavatory-MS, Motor car, Standard class…
- length
- 20 m
- weight
- 142 t
- capacity
- 309 passengers
- Dutch name
- Class 322
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q849815, Wikipedia: British Rail Class 322 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.