British Rail Class 180

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Class 180, at Radley, shows off its roof.

Class 180, no. 180114 at Cheltenham Spa on 31st March 2004. These units currently form the majority of Cheltenham to London Paddington services.

Class 180, at Bath Spa, on its way to London Paddington in First livery.

The Class 180 "Adelante" is a type of British diesel multiple unit built by Alstom between 2000 and 2001 at Washwood Heath in Birmingham. The units are express trains built for First Great Western to supplement their High Speed Train fleet. They have 282 seats and storage space for 6 bicycles.

They are part of the Coradia family along with the Class 175.

[edit] Current operations

The Adelante fleet was originally deployed on a wide variety of First Great Western services. These included:

• London Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads via Bath Spa
• London Paddington to Exeter via Pewsey
• London Paddington to Cardiff Central
• London Paddington to Gloucester and Cheltenham Spa (via the Golden Valley Line), extended to Worcester and Hereford at weekends.

However, complaints regarding onboard engine noise^{[citation needed]} have resulted in the replacement of Adelantes on most of the above services, using High Speed Trains displaced from Midland Mainline. The Adelantes have been transferred to express commuter services from London Paddington to Oxford, Worcester and Hereford (via the Cotswold Line). The displaced Class 166 Turbos are used to strengthen these London to Oxford services.

It was suggested on various internet discussion boards that in Winter 2006/7, the Adelante fleet will move to First ScotRail, First Great Western's sister company in Scotland[1], however a move to Midland Mainline or Virgin Cross Country is also likely. First are creating a commuter HST from their ex-Virgin fleet to replace the units on express commuter services. Official sources [2] suggest their replacement is imminent but First have yet to announce anything. A source close to First Group has posted on the a website site that the Adelantes will be returned to the lease company when enough refubished HSTs are in service, this could be as late as Winter 2007/8^{[citation needed]}

It was reported on various news groups in November 2006 that TransPennine Express were attempting to secure the use of the Adelante units for their new service to Glasgow to start in December 2007. These units would also work in a common pool with First ScotRail.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Fleet numbers

Fourteen sets of these 5-car units were built, numbered 180101-114. Individual carriages are numbered:

• 50901-914 - Driving Motor
• 54901-914 - Intermediate Motor
• 55901-914 - Intermediate Motor
• 56901-914 - Intermediate Motor
• 59901-914 - Driving Motor

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

British Rail Class 180

• Adelante information from First Great Western
• Train Testing site - Testing the first class 180 on BR's Old Dalby test track and on the GWML