The Class 323 electric multiple unit came into being essentially as a 25 kV regional equivalent of the BRB Class 465 Networker units. Principal features include 23 m aluminium bodyshells and three-phase traction equipment without an interference current monitor. In addition it is the first 25 kV rolling stock in the United Kingdom to incorporate regenerative braking. The paper describes the design and build of Class 323, making reference to both its intended use and the newly formed company awarded the contract. Some of the more significant service experiences are referred to, together with reliability and availability issues.
BoyntonJ.Rails Across the City, 1993 (Mid England Books, Kidderminster).
3.
TPR/323/89/S/70 Procurement Specification for Class 323 Electric Multiple Units, 1989 (British Railways Board).
4.
GM/RT2100 Structural Requirements for Railway Vehicles, Issue 2, April 1997 (Railtrack PLC, London).
5.
RochollH.Practical solutions to crashworthiness. In Proceedings of IMechE Seminar onCouplings, London, 1990, pp. 89–112 (Mechanical Engineering Publications, London).
6.
BS 6853:1987 British Standard Code of Practice for Fire Precautions in the Design and Construction of Railway Passenger Rolling Stock, 1987 (British Standards Institution, London).
7.
BallN. D.The BR high density prototype electric multiple unit stockREJ, January, 1972, 1.
8.
HobanP. T.Class 323 achieves its network safety caseRailway Gaz. Int., September 1996, 575-576 (Reed Business Publishing).
9.
van OverbeekeF.OffringaL. J. J.Traction drive for British Rail Class 323 EMU with four quadrant PWM 50 Hz lineside converter. In Proceedings of 4th European Conference onPower Electronics and Applications, Firenze, 1991.
10.
LeighM. J.Brake blendingProc. Instn Mech. Engrs, Part F, Journal of Rail and Rapid Transit, 1994, 208 (F1), 43–49.
11.
HiddenA.Investigation into the Clapham Junction Railway Accident, 1989 (HMSO, London).
12.
RoltL. T. C.A Hunslet Hundred, 1964 (David and Charles Limited, Newton Abbot).
13.
BothamG. J.M.McNeilJ. H.25 kV electric multiple unit for the Kowloon-Canton Railway (British section)Proc. Instn Mech. Engrs, 1983, 197 (104).
