315 856

British Rail History:

№ 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 the then elderly pre-war Class 306 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.

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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:

• Shenfield (commonly known as the Shenfield Metro)

• Chingford

• Enfield Town

• Cheshunt

• Hertford East

• Bishops Stortford

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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.

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The era of privatisation

At the turn of privatisation, 315856 became part of the 'West Anglia' subfleet and passed to the Prism Rail (later National Express)-owned West Anglia Great Northern franchise, referred to as "WAGN". It now worked services on the Lea Valley and West Anglian mainlines out of London Liverpool Street to Chingford, Enfield Town, Cheshunt and Hertford East. During times of disruption, it even saw services as far as Cambridge and Stansted Airport.  The unit did not rush to get a new livery, retaining its Network SouthEast colours with the Prism Rail logo next to the doors until the turn of the millennium, where this became WAGN's plain white livery with purple "WAGN" vinyl stickers located under the windows. 

 

In 2004, the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) merged WAGN, First Great Eastern and Anglia Railways into one broader Greater Anglia franchise. Continued to be owned by National Express, this new Train Operating Company (TOC) was branded as "one", and launched with a striking purple livery with rainbow coloured vinyl stickers at carriage ends. As a result, all Class 315s were in a common pool and could be allocated to any West Anglia or Great Eastern service as required, with 315856 also in this pool. Alongside this, the Class 315s as well as other fleets now inherited by "one" received mid-life refurbishments at Derby Litchurch Lane works, with 315856 treated so in October 2007. Until then, the WAGN vinyl was replaced by a "one" vinyl. During its refurbishment, it received new seat covers, an external and internal paint job, electric door conversion and a complete overhaul of its roof and bodywork. Upon its return to Ilford Depot, only a matter of months would pass by until a further franchise change in 2008, with services being rebranded as National Express East Anglia, although much of the fleet including 315856 retained its purple livery and then-new interior with the addition of a white stripe added at the bottom denoting the new name. Services then passed to Abellio-owned Greater Anglia in 2012 where 315856 retained the white stripe but carrying the Greater Anglia branding instead. Two years later the unit and its classmates received the fitment of internal Passenger Information Screens (PIS) located on the ceiling above the centre of each car, alongside pre-recorded audio announcements by Julie Berry. Multilingual recordings were also provided in the rare case a Class 315 would ever venture as far as Stansted Airport again, although this never happened.