Class 156

The Class 156 Super Sprinter is a Diesel Multiple Unit constructed by Metro-Cammell between 1987 and 1989. They are currently in service today across the network.

Train Description
The British Rail Class 156 Super Sprinter DMU is a two car unit, used on both short routes (ie. Glasgow Central - Whifflet) or Longer distance routes (ie. Glasgow Queen Street to Fort William and Liverpool Lime Street - Norwich). 114 of these units were built, numbered 156401 -156514. Both of the cars in the unit are Driving Motors, one of which contains a toilet. Of the individual carriage numbering, the DMSLs are numbered 52401-52514, and the DMSs 57401-57514.

The trains have an official top speed of 75mph although have reached up to 90mph, but not in regular service. They are powered by a Cummins NT855-R5 in each car and a Voith T211r hydraulic automatic transmission with Gmeinder final drive units.

The doors are single leaf sliding door at each end of each car, operated by the train guard. The doors desgined to reflect upon the longer distance journeys that the 156 was expected to make.

Originally, Regional Railways, a sector of British Rail, ordered 100 units which carried Regional Railways livery. Units 156401-419 and 156422, based at Tyseley depot, were repainted into Regional Railways Express livery. Units 156500-514, the last fifteen units built were ordered by Strathclyde PTE, so carried the original SPTE orange black livery, but were later painted into the carmine and cream livery reminiscent of the livery carried by the Mk1 coaching stock in the 1950s.

When there was a need for single carriage trains, identified by BR in the early 1990s, they considered splitting the 156 units, but decided to split the 155s instead, forming the Class 153s.

Post privatisation, the 156 fleet was split between four TOCs; ScotRail, Northern Spirit, North Western Trains and Central Trains.

Current Operations
The largest operator of the Class 156 is First ScotRail.They can be seen on services such as:
 * Glasgow Central - either East Kilbride, Paisley Canal or Carlisle
 * Glasgow Queen Street - Anniesland (along with the Class 158s and Class 170s)
 * Glasgow Queen Street - Fort William or Mallaig.
 * Glasgow Queen Street - Edinburgh Waverley services, although this is extremely rare.

The class also forms the backbone of the East Midlands Trains local network (formerly known as East Midlands Trains Connect). Class 156 units are regularly seen operating routes such as Leicester - Nottingham - Lincoln Central, Nottingham - Worksop / Skegness / Matlock although other sprinters are occasionally used on all of these routes.

National Express East Anglia operator of services to East Anglia and West Anglia as well as serving numerous branches has nine of these units currently on it's books. The 156's were part of a swap for 10 150's which went to Central Trains on services in the West Midlands. The 156's now see use on the Marks Tey to Sudbury, Norwich to Great Yarmouth/ Lowestoft/ Sheringham and Ipswich to Cambridge routes as well as supplementing 170's occasionally on Norwich to Cambridge/ Peterbrough Services.