#2619
British Rail Class 402
🇬🇧 United Kingdom ·built by Eastleigh Locomotive, Carriage and Wagon Works· from 1939· class of 100 British 2-car electric multiple units
1 photo from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. 2-HAL: Southern Railway (UK)· Public domain
what is it?
The Southern Railway (SR) gave the designation 2-HAL to the electric multiple-unit passenger trains built during the late 1930s to work long-distance semi-fast services on the newly electrified lines from London Victoria to Maidstone and Gillingham (Kent). This type of unit survived long enough in British Rail ownership to be allocated TOPS Class 402.
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 87 years ago, in 1939.
- 410 kW is about 5 family cars (~85 kW each) flat out.
- 39.3 m long: about 9 cars parked nose to tail.
- Served for 32 years (1939–1971).
multiple unit: A self-propelled train: motors are spread under the passenger cars, so no separate locomotive.
spec sheet
- built
- 1939
- in service from
- 1939
- retired
- 1971
- status
- retired
- number built
- 100
- kind
- multiple unit
- traction
- electric
- origin
- 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- builders
- Eastleigh Locomotive, Carriage and Wagon Works, Lancing Carriage Works
- operators
- Southern Railway, British Rail, Southern Region of British Railways
- top speed
- 121 km/h
- power
- 410 kW
- gauge
- 1,435 mm standard gauge
- electric system
- 750 V DC Third rail
- wheel arrangement
- Bo′2′+2′2′
- formation
- DMBT, Driving Motor Brake Third-DTC, Driving Trailer Composite
- length
- 39.3 m
- capacity
- 32 passengers
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q4970786, Wikipedia: British Rail Class 402 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.