X-Nico

5 unusual facts about British Rail Class 172


British Rail Class 172

Testing of the first batch of new units, the 172/0 sets for London Overground, commenced in March 2010, with two sets (anonymous as they did not have unit numbers on them) being tested on the Old Dalby Test Track.

The Government announced in December 2008 that Bombardier, with its Turbostar design, was one of the pre-qualified bidders (along with CSR of China, CAF of Spain and Rotem of South Korea) for the first 200 DMU vehicles of its planned 1300 new carriages.

Green train

the Bombardier Class 172 Turbostar, a British passenger train promoted as ‘green train’.

Old Dalby Test Track

In April 2010, the track was used by Class 172 diesel multiple units, also manufactured by Bombardier in Derby.

Smethwick Galton Bridge railway station

London Midland local services run as part of the cross-city Snow Hill Lines - using Class 172 units; running every 10 minutes during the daytime, and every 30 minutes on Sundays & evenings to Stourbridge Junction and Birmingham Snow Hill and Moor Street.


ZF Ecomat

In addition to its use in road vehicles, the Ecomat transmission is also employed in the Class 172 lightweight diesel multiple unit (DMU) trains in service with various operators in Great Britain and in major refurbishments of ČD Class 842 in the Czech Republic.


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