British Rail Class 313

class of 64 three-car electric multiple units

Class 313 electric multiple units were built by BREL at York Works from 1976-77, these being the first second-generation EMUs to be constructed for British Rail. They were also the first dual-voltage units to be built, capable of drawing power via 25 kV AC overhead, or 750 V DC third-rail, and the first units in Britain to have fully automatic couplers which allowed both physical coupling and also the connection of control electric and air supplies to be carried out without the need to leave the cab. Their passenger seats were an improvement on former types.

British Rail Class 313
Southern Class 313 at Brighton
Interior of a Southern refurbished Class 313/2 unit
In service1976–2023
ManufacturerBritish Rail Engineering Limited
Built atHolgate Road Works, York
Family nameBREL 1972
Replaced
Constructed1976–1977
Refurbishment
  • 1997–2001 (Silverlink)
  • 1999–2003 (WAGN)
  • 2010–2011 (Southern)
Scrapped2019, 2023
Number built64[1]
Number preserved2
Number scrapped62
Successor
Formation
  • 3 cars per unit:
  • DMSO-PTSO-BDMSO
Diagram
  • DMSO vehicles: EA204
  • TSO vehicles: EH210
  • BDMSO vehicles: EI201
Capacity
  • As built: 232 seats
  • Great Northern: 231 seats
  • Overground: 202 seats
  • Silverlink: 228 seats
  • Southern: 202 seats
Operator(s)
Depot(s)
Line(s) served
Specifications
Car body constructionSteel underframe with aluminium body and roof [note 1]
Car length
  • DM vehs.: 19.800 m (64 ft 11.5 in)
  • Trailers: 19.920 m (65 ft 4.3 in)
Width2.820 m (9 ft 3.0 in)
Height3.582 m (11 ft 9.0 in)
Floor height1.146 m (3 ft 9.1 in)
DoorsDouble-leaf pocket sliding, each 1.288 m (4 ft 2.7 in) wide (2 per side per car)
Wheel diameter840 mm (33 in) new[5]
WheelbaseOver bogie centres:
14.170 m (46 ft 5.9 in)
Maximum speed75 mph (120 km/h)
Weight
  • DMSO vehs.: 35.87 t (35.30 LT; 39.54 ST)
  • PTSO vehs.: 31.28 t (30.79 LT; 34.48 ST)
  • BDMSO vehs.: 37.55 t (36.96 LT; 41.39 ST)
  • Total: 104.70 t (103.05 LT; 115.41 ST)[5]
Traction motors8 × GEC G310AZ
(82 kW (110 hp) each, 4 per motor car)
Power output656 kW (880 hp)
Tractive effort90.7 kN (20,400 lbf) starting[5]
Acceleration0.79 m/s2 (2.6 ft/s2)[6]
Deceleration0.92 m/s2 (3.0 ft/s2)[6]
Electric system(s)
Current collection method
UIC classificationBo′Bo′+2′2′+Bo′Bo′
BogiesBREL BX1
Minimum turning radius70.4 m (231 ft 0 in)
Braking system(s)Electro-pneumatic (disc) and rheostatic
('Westcode' three-step)[7]
Safety system(s)
Coupling systemTightlock
Multiple workingWithin class
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8 12 in) standard gauge
Notes
Specifications as at August 1982[4] except where otherwise noted.
Class 313/0, no. 313064 at London King's Cross on 8th February 2003. This unit is painted in WAGN family travelcard advertising-livery.
Class 313/1, no. 313114 arriving at Clapham Junction on 30th October 2004 with a service from Willesden Junction. This unit is painted in Silverlink Metro livery.
Unit 313033 sports a purple WAGN livery at Stevenage, albeit with FCC decals.
The front of class 313/1, no. 313110 at Kew Gardens.
A Class 313 at South Hampstead railway station in the Network SouthEast era
  1. Diagram EA204 0B additionally describes a variant of the DMSO car with a steel body, instead of aluminium.[4]
  2. Removed on 313/2 units.[3]

References

change
  1. "PEP-talk: the BR second generation EMU". D&E Files. Rail Express Modeller. No. 222. Horncastle: Mortons Media Group. October 2022. pp. M14–M15. ISSN 1362-234X.
  2. Griffiths, E. (9 March 2023). "Class 313 put out to pasture". Rail Technology Magazine. Manchester: Cognitive Publishing.
  3. 3.0 3.1 "Southern '313s' – is the end now in sight?". Rail Magazine. No. 977. Peterborough: Bauer Consumer Media. 22 February 2023. pp. 38–43.
  4. 4.0 4.1 Vehicle Diagram Book No. 210 for Electric Multiple Units (including A.P.T.) (PDF). Derby: Mechanical & Electrical Engineering Department, British Railways Board. August 1982. EA204, EH210, EI201 (in work pp. 12–13, 278–279, 386–387). Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 January 2015. Retrieved 25 April 2023 – via Barrowmore MRG.
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 Bull & Cronin 1978a, p. 77, Appendix D.
  6. 6.0 6.1 Bull & Cronin 1978a, p. 71, Class 313 EMU: Performance Characteristics.
  7. Bull & Cronin 1978a, p. 72, Class 313 EMU: Brake System.