#3472
British Rail Class 305
🇬🇧 United Kingdom ·built by British Rail· from 1959· class of 71 British electric multiple units
1 photo from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. Scotrail 305501 at Edinburgh Waverly: Alzarian16· CC BY-SA 3.0
what is it?
The British Rail Class 305 was an alternating current (AC) electric multiple unit (EMU). Under the pre-1973 British Rail numbering system, the class was known as AM5; when TOPS was introduced, it became Class 305.
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 67 years ago, in 1959.
- Weighs about as much as 20 African elephants (~6 t each).
- 60.7 m long: about 13 cars parked nose to tail.
- Seats 363: 7 full city buses (~50 seats each).
- Served for 43 years (1959–2002).
multiple unit: A self-propelled train: motors are spread under the passenger cars, so no separate locomotive.
spec sheet
- built
- 1959
- in service from
- 1959
- retired
- 2002
- status
- retired
- number built
- 71
- kind
- multiple unit
- traction
- electric
- origin
- 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- builders
- British Rail, Holgate Road carriage works, Doncaster Works
- operators
- British Rail, Network SouthEast, British Rail ScotRail, First North Western, National Express ScotRail, Eastern Region of British Railways
- top speed
- 121 km/h
- power
- —
- gauge
- 1,435 mm standard gauge
- electric system
- Overhead, (and 6.25 kV until 1983)
- formation
- Class 305/1 , BDTSO, Battery Driving Trailer Second Open+MBS, Motor Brake Second Open+DTSO, Driving Trailer Second Open…
- length
- 60.7 m
- weight
- 119 t
- capacity
- 363 passengers
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q849789, Wikipedia: British Rail Class 305 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.