315 856
315 856 is directly owned by the ACMU Society.
History written by David Silman
British Rail History:
â„– 315856 was delivered new in February 1981, entering service with British Rail in the standard BR Blue and Grey livery of the period. Being allocated to duties on intensive inner and outer-suburban services from London Liverpool Street station, it was part of the wider Class 315 fleet built to modernise and standardise electric commuter services in the London area, particularly on the Great Eastern and West Anglia lines, replacing elderly slam-door EMUs. These services formed the backbone of daily commuter traffic in and out of the capital, with the units quickly becoming a familiar sight to passengers. In 1986, responsibility for London and South East commuter services passed to the newly created Network SouthEast (NSE) sector of British Rail. Under NSE, the unit received the distinctive red, white and blue Network SouthEast livery, becoming part of a wider push to rebrand, invest in, and improve the image of suburban rail travel.
During its British Rail career, 315856 worked a wide range of routes radiating from London Liverpool Street, including services to:
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Shenfield (commonly known as the Shenfield Metro)
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Chingford
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Enfield Town
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Cheshunt
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Hertford East
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Bishops Stortford
In addition to these core commuter routes, Class 315 units were also used on longer-distance and less conventional diagrams. This saw 315856 and its sister units operating further into Essex, reaching destinations such as Southend Victoria, Southminster, and the Romford to Upminster shuttle. At times, the class also appeared on services to Stansted Airport, reflecting British Rail’s flexible use of the fleet during periods of growth and timetable changes.
The Class 315s were designed specifically for high-capacity, high-frequency operation, featuring wide sliding doors, spacious standing areas, and robust electrical equipment (such as thyristor control) suited to intensive stop-start working. In service, 315856 proved reliable and well suited to the demands of the Great Eastern suburban network, remaining a mainstay of Liverpool Street commuter operations throughout the 1980s and into the early 1990s.
315 856
Vehicles Owned By:
The ACMU Society
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Located at LMMR Near Swansea, Wales
ACMU Society Role:
Owning group providing direct financial support, publicity and volunteer assistance towards the ongoing restoration.
Vehicle Details:
Driving Motor Standard Open
DMSO No. 64571
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Trailer Standard Open
TSO No. 71337
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Pantograph Trailer Standard Open
PTSO No. 71444
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Driving Motor Standard Open
DMSO No. 64572
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Currently Under Restoration
More Information:
The era of privatisation
When the franchises came up for renewal there was a reorganisation that created a franchise that combined the FGE and West Anglia services as well as adding the inter-city and rural services of Anglia Railways from April 1st 2004 and was operated by National Express under the “One” brand. At this time the ex-WAGN 315s moved back to Ilford Depot.
Two years before the unification of the routes FGE embarked upon a midlife overhaul and upgrade of the units and four, 804, 806, 809 and 812 were introduced that included new front end lighting, electric doors and new traction control electronics. Further enhancements were to have been included as the programme progressed but these were cut back when National Express took control of the franchise and no more units were to be fitted with the new headlight assemblies. The first four units had been overhauled at Ilford but in order to speed up the process Bombardier moved the production line to Derby with the last unit being outshopped in 2008. The units were all painted in “One” livery with the exception of the four “Ilford” units which had been painted in First Group blue and these were repainted at a later date.
With the franchise rebranded in February 2008 as National Express East Anglia (NXEA) the units were to lose their rainbow stripes around the ends of the vehicles with a white stripe and NXEA branding being applied to the length of the units.
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Changes of operator
February 2012 was to bring a change of operator with Abellio taking over control and with it another rebranding exercise was undertaken with the units initially losing their white stripes as the franchise became Abellio Greater Anglia. Shortly after another overhaul programme was commenced with the units gaining an electronic passenger information system and wheelchair spaces being created by removing some seats from the PTS vehicles to allow compliance with Passengers with Reduced Mobility (PRM) regulations. At the same time the units were repainted in a white livery with red doors and branded as Greater Anglia.
From May 2015 the fleet was again split up when the West Anglia and Great Eastern inner suburban services came under the control of Transport for London with 801 to 817 passing to London Overground (LO) for use on the Chingford, Enfield and Cheshunt services and the remaining 44 moving to TFL Rail (XR) to operate the Shenfield services in advance of the opening of the Crossrail tunnels. The units were all subsequently re-liveried with blue, orange and white for LO units and blue and white for the XR units.
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The end of an era
22nd June 2017 was to become a black day for the 315 fleet when the first Class 345 Crossrail unit entered service on the Shenfield line and as the number of 345 units increased so the number of 315 units has decreased and units have been slowly withdrawn being sent either for scrap or were transferred to the London Overground routes to replace 315s that were due for overhaul or, in the case of one unit, had suffered severe structural damage following an overhead line incident.
On March 3rd 2020 London Overground introduced the first of their Class 710s to their West Anglia routes allowing non-PRM compliant Class 317s to be withdrawn first with the Class 315s slowly following as the number of new units in service increased with the final two units, 802 and 807, running a special diagram on Tuesday 20th October to mark the final day in service of the class with London Overground.
With the opening of the first section of the Crossrail tunnel between Abbey Wood and Paddington on 24th May 2022 the remaining six 315s had their TFL Rail branding removed but have remained in service operating on their own diagrams during peak hours and also being used to fill in when 345s have not been available.
6th November 2022 saw the opening of the Crossrail tunnel to services from Shenfield through to Paddington leaving the 315s with two morning peak services to Liverpool Street from Gidea Park and two return journeys in the evening the last of which operated on 9th December bringing to a close 42 years of service to the commuters of East London.
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