Operations Countrywide

The Class 321/9 was delivered to Regional Railways following the introduction of the 321/3 and 321/4 fleets to Network SouthEast. 3 units were ordered initially for operation in the Leeds area on the route between Leeds and Doncaster, which in the early 1990s was the extent of the electrification. Although Regional Railways had their own corporate colour scheme of blue, grey & white, these units were delivered in the MetroTrain Red & cream of the West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive. The trains were passed to Arriva Trains Northern during privatisation, who decided to retain the MetroTrain branding and livery across their entire fleet of Leeds based electric trains.

Until 2006 the Class 321/9 fleet remained in the same livery dating back to the Regional Railways WYPTE MetroTrain operation, however new operator of the region Northern Rail began refurbishment of the 3 units which included a repaint into the joint West Yorkshire PTE/Northern Rail livery, which added a red undercoat to the purple and blue livery of the operator. Passing through Arriva Rail North and Northern Trains they eventually were painted in an all over blue livery. Upon withdrawal in the Leeds area they moved to Greater Anglia, retaining all over blue for the short time they operated before being scrapped.

Compared to the history of the Class 321/9s the history of the Class 322s is much more complicated, although similar to the Class 321 fleet already in operation these units were designed specifically for work on the then brand new extension to Stansted Airport. 5 units were built to this specification receiving a unique Stansted Express livery when built, one of the few units to be delivered to Network SouthEast not in their striking red, white and blue livery. Airport work did not last long for the class however, as by the turn of privatisation operator WAGN removed them from this route instead using them on East Coast Main Line services, though they retained their Stansted Express livery during this time. This era units also saw use by North Western Trains on routes around Manchester, as well as a service between London and Manchester Airport via the West Coast Main Line. Two units of the fleet were repainted into the North Western Trains Blue With Gold Star livery. This new route was unsuccessful however, and the units were returned to WAGN only a year later. Silverlink for a short time also made use of these units alongside their existing Class 321/4 fleet, as well as Anglia Railways to cover on Norwich services.

Work for the fleet, both at home on WAGN or further afield, had dried up by 2001. The fleet were transferred to ScotRail to replace slam door trains out of Edinburgh with routes for the class including the North Berwick branch line as well as Glasgow Central via Carstairs, which allowed the units to return to the depot in Glasgow. This also didn’t last long, as the decision was taken by central government for the units to return south to WAGN before the franchise end. Following this the fleet then began operations under National Express’ ‘ONE’ brand, with the units operating in a common pool with the already active Class 321s.

Once again however they were deemed redundant in the South East, with ‘ONE’ returning the 5 units to First ScotRail by 2005. Eventually First ScotRail saw operation of the fleet for many years, all receiving the First ‘barbie’ purple livery during their time in Scotland. During 2006 and 2007 the fleet were refurbished, which saw various improvements. In the 2010s however the fleet had once again become redundant, as the Class 380s built to operate services in Glasgow had been ordered in sufficient numbers to also see replacement of Class 322s in the Edinburgh region. All 5 units were moved to Northern Rail, to operate in a common pool with their existing Class 321/9 fleets, where they received their final repaint to the same all over blue livery as the existing fleet. Upon withdrawal in the Leeds area they moved to Greater Anglia, retaining all over blue for the short time they operated before being scrapped.

The Class 320 was developed as a 3 car derivative of the existing Class 321, which would see use in Scotland on the electrified suburban network in and around Glasgow alongside the similar Class 314 (a deriviative of the Class 315) and the Class 318 (a derivative of the Class 317). The differences between the Class 320s and 321s were purely technical, as some of the equipment originally placed underneath the centre trailer had to be relocated to the driving vehicles. Originally as they were built for quite short local journeys in the Glasgow area they lacked toilets. They were also limited to 75mph for the same reasons, which allowed them to be constructed without the yaw dampers needed to exceed that speed. They were intended to operate on the Argyle line, though initially were introduced on the North Clyde line due to issues with the newly opened section of line causing issues with the trains. However they were soon used across Glasgow’s large electrified network, being able to work in multiple across both the Class 320 and 318 fleets to form 6 car trains.

Originally they were deilvered in an orange and black livery under SPT TransClyde, eventually being updated into SPT carmine and cream in the mid 2000s. With SPT becoming a part of Transport Scotland however they would see repaint into the ScotRail saltire livery, SPTs single livery for the entire ScotRail fleet. A large refubrishment would also occur during this time most notably with accessible toilets fitted across the Class 320 fleet, various improvements were also seen however the original murals as fitted to the vehicle ends were retained. All Class 321s and 320s had these murals fitted from new, with the art changing depending on the operating location, however only ScotRail units retain these today.

Conversions of London Midland and First Capital Connect units began to expand the fleet during the same era, with these units being introduced as the Class 320/4 with their running number being identical to their former Class 321 designation. As these were Class 321s, required components underneath the centre trailer were relocated as with the original Class 320 designs built 30 years earlier. Some began operating in the Glasgow area in their former London Midland livery, as some units were released only partially completed before returning to Doncaster for eventual repaint, most however were fully refurbished before entering service with ScotRail during 2016.

These units remain in service today, with 22 /3 units and 12 additional /4 units still in operation across Glasgow, with units still operating many of the routes across Glasgow. Introduction of newer trains however has seen their reach reduced, with long distance Class 320s to Lanark, Helensburgh and Wemyss bay now much rarer than previously. The Class 320s are due replacement in the coming years, with Transport Scotland and ScotRail expecting to replace Glasgows fleet of Class 318s, 320s and 334s with a brand new electric multiple unit.

TOP (1) Northern Trains 321901 at Ingatestone station. (2) Northern Rail 321903 at Doncaster station (Public Domain).

MIDDLE (1) Northern Trains 322485 at Ipswich station. (2) Network SouthEast 322484 at Stansted Airport station (Public Domain). (3) First ScotRail 322481 at Drem station (Public Domain).

BOTTOM (1) ScotRail Saltire 320301 at Carstairs station. (2) ScotRail Saltire 320319 at Alexandra Parade station. (3) Strathclyde Passenger Transport 320303 at Airdrie station (Public Domain).

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