Class 159, no. 159016 at Plymouth on 29th August 2003. This unit is operated by South West Trains and is painted in their express livery. The British Rail Class 159 "Express Sprinter" is a diesel multiple unit, built from 1992-93 by BREL at Derby Works. The units were built as Class 158 units, but were rebuilt by Babcock Rail in Rosyth before entering traffic. Twenty-two 3-car units were built for Network SouthEast's West of England route from London Waterloo to Salisbury, Yeovil and Exeter. They were used to replace Class 50 locomotive-hauled passenger trains.
Units were numbered 159001-022, with individual cars numbered 52873-894 and 57873-894 for driving motor vehicles, and 58718-739 for intermediate motor vehicles. The entire class was maintained at a new depot at Salisbury.
Current Operations
Upon privatisation of British Rail, the West of England route passed to the South West Trains franchise, which was won by the Stagecoach Group. Units were progressively repainted from Network SouthEast's blue, red and white livery, into South West Trains' express livery.
Since then, the Class 159 fleet has been supplemented by nine Class 170 "Turbostar" units. The units sphere of operation has increased to include Summer-only trains beyond Exeter to Paignton, Plymouth and Penzance. The units have also recently started working London Waterloo to Bristol Temple Meads via Salisbury services, which were previously operated by Arriva Trains Wales.
Fleet Details
Four units have been named after towns along the West of England route.
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