British Rail Class 387
| Industry | Rail transport manufacturing |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1940 (as per Bombardier history, not in text) |
| Products | Trains, including Class 387 Electrostar |
The British Rail Class 387 Electrostar is an electric multiple unit passenger train developed by Bombardier Transportation and forms part of the Electrostar series. A total of 107 sets were manufactured, with the first entering service on Thameslink in December 2014. These trains are currently deployed across Gatwick Express, Great Northern, Great Western Railway, Heathrow Express, and Southern operations.
As a dual-voltage model derived from the , the Class 387 can operate on both 750VDC third rail and 25kVAC overhead line equipment (OLE), offering operational versatility across various routes. This class marks the final batch in the Bombardier Electrostar production line, which produced 2,805 vehicles over an 18-year period from 1999 to 2017.
Class 387/1
The first Class 387/1 units were procured specifically for the Thameslink service, allowing the displacement of older units to Northern Rail for deployment on the newly electrified route between and Liverpool via .
In December 2012, acting on behalf of the Department for Transport, Southern issued an OJEU notice, receiving bids by January 2013. The tender invitation followed in February 2013, with final proposals due by 18 June. Subsequently, Southern secured a contract with Bombardier on 30 July 2013 for 29 four-car units.
In October 2015, Porterbrook placed a speculative order for 80 vehicles; of these, 56 were leased to Great Western Railway and 24 to c2c as Class 387/3 variants.
Within the Class 387/1 fleet exists a subfleet designated Class 387/1a, equipped with ETCS signalling technology intended for use within Heathrow Airport railway tunnels and anticipated future route-wide implementation. This subfleet gained approval for passenger service from the Office of Rail and Road on 14 December 2020.
Class 387/2
Govia commissioned 27 four-car units to replace older stock on the Gatwick Express route, with initial entry into service occurring in February 2016.
Class 387/3
In May 2016, c2c announced plans to operate six Class 387 units to enhance capacity across its network.
Gatwick Express
Under Govia's Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern franchise agreement, an order for 27 four-car Class 387 units was placed to supplant existing stock on the Gatwick Express, utilizing part of an optional batch of up to 140 additional carriages. This procurement was revealed in November 2014, with testing commencing in July 2015 and service launch on 29 February 2016.
Operational rollout encountered challenges when unionized drivers declined to operate twelve-coach Class 387 formations, asserting that their driver-only operation agreement limited them to trains no longer than ten coaches and raising safety issues due to absence of conductors. Govia pursued a High Court injunction to enforce deployment, after which the union withdrew its objection. Prior to full assignment on Gatwick Express services, several units temporarily served on Thameslink routes due to delays in delivery of other units, returning by mid-2016.
By 2021, certain Class 387/2 trains were reassigned to Great Northern operations following withdrawal of older rolling stock.
Southern
Following the deployment of Class 379 EMUs on Great Northern routes, a number of Class 387/1 and 387/3 trains were reassigned to Southern, where they operate on both Coastway and mainline services. These trains took over from Class 377 EMUs, which were then leased out to South Eastern. The Class 387/2 units originally leased by Great Northern were transferred to Southern before eventually being returned to Gatwick Express.
Great Western Railway
The initial introduction of a Great Western Railway Class 387 train occurred on 5 September 2016, serving peak-hour journeys between and . By January 2017, GWR was running a half-hourly service from Paddington to Hayes & Harlington utilizing pairs of these 387/1 units.
On 1 January 2018, with the completion of electrification, Class 387/1 EMUs replaced GWR diesel multiple units on suburban routes between London Paddington and . Since electrification beyond Didcot Parkway to was halted, electric trains terminate at Didcot, while diesel services cover the segment to Oxford. Express services continue directly to Oxford without change.
In January 2019, following electrification of the Reading–Taunton line, Class 387/1s began operating between and . By December of that year, new trains assumed most stopping services between Reading and Paddington, freeing up twelve Class 387s for deployment on Heathrow Express routes connecting and Paddington.
After the December 2021 timetable revision, GWR has deployed Class 387s on electrified sections of the Great Western Main Line and South Wales Main Line, running from Paddington through to Cardiff, including special event services at the Millennium Stadium.
Great Northern
From late 2016 onwards, twenty-nine Class 387/1 units displaced by s on Thameslink were transferred to Great Northern. These mainly operate on the route from Kings Cross to Cambridge and onward to King's Lynn, although they also appear on other services. Their livery consists of a white base with Southern green doors and matching moquette.
In 2018, unit 387105 briefly ran on Gatwick Express services without adopting the red livery typical for that operation; it returned to Great Northern in May 2020 retaining its original branding.
March 2021 saw Great Northern announce plans to retire all remaining s by May that year, replacing them with Class 387/2 units transferred from Gatwick Express. By mid-July 2022, six additional Class 387/3 trains arrived from c2c, allowing some Class 387/2 units to be redeployed back to Southern.
Heathrow Express
In March 2018, Heathrow Airport Holdings reached an agreement with Great Western Railway (GWR) for GWR to take over operation of the Heathrow Express service between London Paddington and Heathrow Airport starting in August 2018. By September 2019, Heathrow Express confirmed that GWR would handle both operations and maintenance of Class 387 trains beginning in 2020, replacing the older Class 332 fleet. Despite this operational change, ownership of the trains remains with Heathrow Airport Holdings until at least 2028.
A fleet of twelve Class 387 units from GWR was specially modified for Heathrow Express use, featuring first-class seating, high-speed Wi-Fi access, additional luggage storage, and onboard entertainment systems. This sub-fleet is classified as Class 387/1a due to their unique ETCS signalling equipment required for operations within Heathrow Airport’s railway tunnels.
The first of these modified units entered service on 29 December 2020.
c2c
The initial delivery of the c2c Class 387/3 occurred in October 2016, with the first unit commencing service on 14 November 2016. These trains were leased by c2c to mitigate significant overcrowding problems. During peak periods, they operated as 12-car formations on fast limited-stop routes running from Shoeburyness to London Fenchurch Street. After the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the fleet was temporarily parked at Shoeburyness Carriage Sidings in March 2020 but was subsequently reintroduced for peak-time operations.
In May 2021, three units were transferred from c2c to Great Western Railway due to bogie issues impacting their Class 800 trains. By June 2022, both c2c and Great Western Railway had withdrawn their Class 387/3 fleets. Mid-July 2022 saw these units reassigned to the Great Northern network, where they were rebranded accordingly.
Thameslink
The first Class 387 train for Thameslink entered passenger service in December 2014, with the entire fleet operational by July 2015. These units primarily served the route between Bedford and Brighton.
During summer 2016, a number of Gatwick Express Class 387/2 sets were temporarily deployed on Thameslink services due to delays in the delivery of Class 700 trains; these units later returned to Gatwick Express. Subsequently, the Class 387/1 trains were reassigned to Great Northern, operating routes from King's Cross to King's Lynn via Cambridge, including peak and weekend journeys extending to Peterborough.
Incidents
- On 15 August 2017, unit 387117 collided with the buffer stops located at platform 9 of London King's Cross station.
- Unit 387146 experienced a derailment near West Ealing railway station on 27 November 2018.
Train sets
| Class | Operator | Quantity built | Construction years | Cars per set | Unit identifiers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 387/1 | Great Northern | 24 | 2014–2017 | 4 | 387101–387118, 387120, 387122, 387127, 387172–387174 |
| Heathrow Express | 12 | 387130–387141 | |||
| Great Western Railway | 30 | 387142–387171 | |||
| Southern | 6 | 387119, 387121, 387123, 387126, 387128-387129 | |||
| 387/2 | Gatwick Express | 22 | 2015–2016 | 387202–387204, 387209–387227 | |
| Southern | 5 | 387201, 387205–387208 | |||
| 387/3 | Great Northern | 2 | 2016 | 387303–387304 | |
| Southern | 4 | 387301-387302, 387305-387306 |
Designated units
The units that have been assigned specific names include:
- 387124 Paul Mccann
- 387130 San Francisco
- 387131 Sydney
- 387132 New York
- 387133 Tokyo
- 387134 Barcelona
- 387135 Rome
- 387136 Paris
- 387137 Amsterdam
- 387138 Las Vegas
- 387139 Dublin
- 387140 London
- 387141 Prague