British Rail Class 375

British Rail Class 375 "Electrostar"
375917 and another Class 375 approach Bromley South
The interior of a Class 375
In service	2001 - Current
Manufacturer	ADtranz Derby (now Bombardier)
Family name	Electrostar
Number built	140 trainsets
Number in service	112 trainsets
Formation	3 cars per trainset (375/3 only) 4 cars per trainset (others)
Capacity	242-280 (4-car unit)
Operator	Southeastern
Specifications
Car length	20.4 m (66 ft 11 in)
Width	2.80 m (9 ft 2 in)
Height	3.78 m (12 ft 5 in)
Maximum speed	100 mph (161 km/h)
Weight	133.1 tonnes (131.0 long tons) (375/3 only) 173.6 tonnes (170.9 long tons) (others)
Power output	1 megawatt (1,300 hp) (375/3 only) 1.5 megawatts (2,000 hp) (others)
Electric system(s)	750 V DC 3rd rail 25 kV AC Overhead (375/6 only)
Coupling system	Dellner
Gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) Standard gauge

The British Rail Class 375 Electrostar electric multiple unit train was built by Bombardier Transportation (previously ADtranz) at their Derby Works, from 1999 to 2005. The Electrostar family, which also includes Classes 357, 376, 377, 378 and 379, is the most numerous type of EMU introduced since the privatisation of British Rail.

Description

These trains are owned by HSBC Rail, and leased back to Southeastern for operation from London to Kent and parts of East Sussex.

The first batch of 30 trains (Class 375/6) were fitted with both a pantograph and third-rail shoes for dual voltage, where the remainder of these trains have one coach in each unit with a recess where the pantograph could be fitted, allowing for future conversion to run on AC power from overhead lines. Although the units are normally operated on 750V DC lines only, the class is numbered in the 3xx series which usually refers to AC operation. The option is available for the 375/6 units to be leased to a network which operates on 25kV AC overhead lines.

Southern's Class 375 units have since been converted to Class 377. The ex-375s, akin to Southern's 377/3, have a mixture of grey, plum and blue seats as opposed to the 377/2 and 377/4 (there were two batches of the 377/1: 101-139 All have the mixed seating colours, whereas 140-169 have green uniformed seating). The 375/3, 375/6 and 375/7 types all have smaller headlight and a slightly different interior than the 375/8 and 375/9. The 375/3, 375/6 and 375/7 all have glass overhead racks, and the poles in the train bend straight down.

The class 375/8 and 375/9 have holes in the overhead racks, and the poles bend right the way around. Out of all the seating arrangements in 375s, the 375/9 stands out as it has 2+3 seating layout, unlike all other 375 series. The layout in the interior is also different. The chairs are more upright and not as comfortable as the 375/3, 375/6, 375/7 or 375/8, but the legroom is better. The 375/9 was designed with rush hour commuters in mind. On the exterior of a 375/8 and 375/9 there are a few small differences with the headlights. The 375/8 and 375/9 have bigger headlights and they are of the LED type which can change to white or red.

The Class 375 is the principal new train used by Southeastern, and has replaced the expired Mark 1 derived stock on mainline services to Kent; all the Southeastern units have also been converted from Tightlock to Dellner couplers, but unlike the Southern fleet, they have not been reclassified as 377s. The 375/8 and 375/9 sub-classes were built with Dellner couplers from new.

From August 2011, Southeastern has begun a minor refresh of the interiors of the units, with a full re-trim of the seating in the company's new purple moquette (as seen on the refreshed 465/466 units) and the addition of new CCTV cameras.

Class 375 routes

Main lines

• Charing Cross/Cannon Street – Tunbridge Wells and Hastings fast services,
• Charing Cross/Cannon Street – Ramsgate via Tonbridge and Folkestone Central

• Victoria – Ramsgate and Dover Priory via Chatham
• Cannon Street - Ramsgate/Broadstairs via Chatham (peak hours only)
• Charing Cross - Dover Priory via Ashford International

Outer suburban

Electrostars also work the following outer suburban Southeastern routes interchangeably with Class 465/9 units:

• Charing Cross/Cannon Street – Tunbridge Wells
• Charing Cross/Cannon Street – Ashford via Sevenoaks,
• Victoria – Ashford, via Maidstone East,
• Victoria - Gillingham (Kent) via Swanley (Saturday's only)
• Victoria - Canterbury East railway station/Faversham railway station (Sunday's only)

Medway Valley Line

Since 31st October 2011 one Class 375/3 has worked on the Medway Valley line per day, on weekdays only.

• Strood – Maidstone West/Paddock Wood/Tonbridge

Fleet details

Class	Type	Operator	No. Built	Year Built	Cars per Set	Unit nos.	Notes
Class 375/3	Express	Southeastern	10	2001–2002	3	375301-310	28 Southern units reclassified as Class 377 in 2005
Class 375/6			30	1999–2001	4	375601-630	Dual-voltage units
Class 375/7			15	2001–2002		375701-715	-
Class 375/8			30	2004–2005		375801-830	-
Class 375/9	Outer suburban		27	2003–2004		375901-927	-

Named units

Unit	Name
375 304	Medway Valley Line 1856 - 2006
375 608	Bromley Travelwise
375 610	Royal Tunbridge Wells
375 611	Dr. William Harvey
375 619	Driver John Neve
375 623	Hospice in the Weald
375 624	White Cliffs Country (Removed upon Relivery)
375 701	Kent Air Ambulance Explorer
375 703	Dickens Traveller
375 830	City of London

Note that unit 375 624 (White Cliffs Country) was re-liveried with the Southeastern trial livery and currently does not have its name displayed.

Diagrams

A Diagram of a Class 375 in the new Southeastern Trial livery.

A diagram of a class 375 in the livery seen on 375/8s&/9s

A diagram of a class 375 in the livery seen on 375/3s/6s&/7s

Gallery

• 

  A Southeastern Class 375/6 Electrostar EMU No. 375617 departs London Charing Cross.

• 

  The interior of a First Class cabin aboard a Southeastern Class 375 Electrostar, showing the plum seat moquette trim.

• 

  The interior of Standard Class accommodation aboard a Southeastern Class 375 Electrostar, showing the grey seat moquette trim.

• 

  The interior of Standard Class accommodation aboard a Southeastern Class 375 Electrostar, showing the blue seat moquette trim.

• 

  A Southeastern trains Class 375/6 Electrostar EMU No. 375618 at Paddock Wood.

• 

  A Southeastern Class 375/8 Electrostar EMU No. 375812 at Ashford International.

• 

  A Class 375/7 Electrostar EMU No. 375701 at London Charing Cross. Note: this unit has had its grey stripe removed.

• 

  A Southeastern Class 375/9 Electrostar EMU No. 375909 at London Bridge.