British Rail Class 168
Clubman
Background
  1. 000066
Interiorimage168106_refurbished_interior_July_2025.jpg
InteriorcaptionPost-2024 refurbished Class 168/1 saloon
Service20 May 1998 – present
ManufacturerAdtranz · Bombardier Transportation
FactoryDerby Litchurch Lane Works
FamilyClubman, Turbostar
Yearconstruction1998–2004
Refurbishment2007–2008;[1] 2024–present[2]
Numberbuilt19
Formation
  • 4 cars per 168/0 unit:
    DMSL(W)-MSL-MS-DMSL
  • 3 or 4 cars per 168/1 unit:
    DMSL(W)-MS-DMSL
    DMSL(W)-MSL-MS-DMSL
  • 3 or 4 cars per 168/2 unit:
    DMSL(W)-MS-DMSL(W)
    DMSL(W)-MS-MS-DMSL(W)
  • 2 cars per 168/3 unit:
    DMSL(W)-DMSL[3]
Fleetnumbers
  • 168/0: 168001–168005;
  • 168/1: 168106–168113;
  • 168/2: 168214–168219;
  • 168/3: 168321–168329
Capacity
  • 3-car: 204 seats;
  • 4-car: 272 seats
OwnerEversholt Rail Group[4] · Porterbrook[5]
OperatorChiltern Railways
Lines
CarbodyWelded aluminium,
Carlength
  • 168/0 DM vehicles:
    24.10 m (79 ft 1 in)
  • Other DM vehicles:
    23.62 m (77 ft 6 in)
  • Intermediate vehicles:
    23.61 m (77 ft 6 in)
Width2.69 m (8 ft 10 in)
Height3.77 m (12 ft 4 in)
DoorsDouble-leaf sliding plug
Maxspeed100 mph (160 km/h)
Engine
  • All units except 168329:
    2–4 × MTU 6R183TD13H[6]
  • Unit 168329:
    2 × MTU 6H1800R76[7][8]
  • (all one per car)
Enginetype
Displacement
  • 6R183: 13 L (790 cu in)[citation needed]
  • 6H1800: 12.81 L (782 cu in)[8]
  • (all per engine)
Poweroutput315 kW (422 hp) per engine[9][8]
Transmission
Acceleration0.5 m/s2 (1.1 mph/s)[4]
Bogies
  • Adtranz/Bombardier
  • Powered: P3-23
  • Unpowered: T3-23
BrakesElectro-pneumatic (disc)
Safety
CouplingBSI[13]
MultipleworkingWithin class, and with
NotesSourced from [9] except where otherwise noted.

The British Rail Class 168 Clubman is a British diesel-hydraulic multiple unit passenger train used on Chiltern Main Line services between and the West Midlands.

The trains were built by Adtranz at the Derby Litchurch Lane Works, in several batches from 1998. The first batch was classified 168/0 under TOPS and resembled the units built previously by BREL York. The Networker-design cab was an interim solution pending the design of a completely new cab for further Turbostar batches. Subsequent builds, subclassed as 168/1 and 168/2, were constructed at the same time as Class 165s and thus are part of the Turbostar group of trains.

History

Network SouthEast originally planned the Class 168 for its expansion of service on the Chiltern Main Line to or . These units were planned to have a higher top speed of 100 mph (160 km/h) and better acceleration than the Class 165 Networker Turbo DMU trains. In the event, privatisation intervened before Network SouthEast acquired any trains.[14]

In September 1996, Chiltern Railways ordered four trains from Adtranz at a cost of £34 million, first units ordered by any train operating company since the privatisation of the UK rail industry. These Clubman 168/0 trains were delivered as three-car sets, but were later lengthened to four.

In 2023, Chiltern announced the refurbishment of the entire Class 168 fleet, costing £10.7 million. The units are receiving new carpets, reupholstered seats, 5G wi-fi and charging points, as well as a new revised livery.[15] The first unit to be refurbished was unveiled on 10 October 2024.[16]

Variants

Three different variants of the 168 were produced: 168/0, 168/1 and 168/2. Both Classes 168/1 and 168/2 are actually of the same design as the Class 170 Turbostar DMU trains, mainly due to the redesigned cab ends. The nine Class 170s that Chiltern obtained from First TransPennine Express were converted by Brush Traction to operate with the Class 168 fleet and redesignated as Class 168/3.[17] Unit 168329 was converted by Porterbrook into a diesel-battery hybrid. It was tested in 2021 on the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway[18] and entered service as HybridFlex in February 2022.[19] it was reverted back to a regular diesel unit later that year, after operations failed.[20]

Fleet details

Fleet details
ClassOperatorQty.Year builtCars per unitUnit numbers
168/0Chiltern Railways519984168001–168005
168/122000168106–168107
63168108–168113
168/232004168214, 168218–168219
34168215–168217
168/3
[17]		820002168321–168328
1168329 ("HybridFlex" demonstrator)

Named units

The following units been named:

References

  1. ^ "About us - Our train fleet". Chiltern Railways. Archived from the original on 3 July 2010. Retrieved 23 August 2010.
  2. ^ "Mk 5s could release '168s' for East West Rail". 22 March 2024.
  3. ^ Class 170 & 171 Diesel Multiple Unit. 1A ed. Derby: Porterbrook Leasing Company. September 2013. Archived from the original on 23 November 2015. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  4. ^ "Class 168". London: Eversholt Rail Group. Archived 6 August 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  5. ^ "ROSCO Fleets". Modern Railways: Review 2023. Stamford: Key Publishing. 2023. pp. 18–19. ISBN 978-1-80282-569-5.
  6. ^ MTU Rail Power for the UK & Ireland. MTU Friedrichshafen GmbH. September 2018. p. 2. Archived 3 December 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
  7. ^ "HybridFLEX Battery-Diesel Train, UK". Railway Technology. London: Verdict Media. Archived 23 September 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
  8. ^ MTU Hybrid Powerpack Series 1800 for Railcar Applications. 01/22 ed. Friedrichshafen: Rolls-Royce Power Systems AG. 26 August 2022. Archived 14 December 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
  9. ^ Class 168 Diesel Multiple Unit. 1A ed. Derby: Porterbrook Leasing Company. September 2013. Archived from the original on 1 July 2015. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  10. ^ "Turbo Star" Class 168: Chiltern Railways Diesel Railcars with Voith T 211 rzze Turbo Transmission. 07/2000 ed. Heidenheim: Voith Turbo GmbH & Co. KG. G 1520 e.
  11. ^ "Cutting Emissions – cleaner, greener Turbostars". Rail Engineer. Coalville: Rail Media Group. 26 April 2022. Archived 23 May 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
  12. ^ "Hybrid Powerpacks for Railcars". Rail Solution Guide. 01/22 ed. Friedrichshafen: Rolls-Royce Power Systems AG. 26 August 2022. p. 13. Archived 14 December 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
  13. ^ System Data for Mechanical and Electrical Coupling of Rail Vehicles in support of GM/RT2190. London: Rail Safety and Standards Board. 22 June 2011. p. 4. SD001. Archived from the original on 1 April 2012. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  14. ^ Green, Chris & Vincent, Mike (2014). The Network SouthEast Story. OPC. ISBN 9780860936534.
  15. ^ "Capacity challenges on Chiltern Railways services". Chiltern Railways. Archived 14 April 2025 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 14 April 2025.
  16. ^ "Chiltern Railways unveils refurbished Class 168 train". RailAdvent. Archived 12 October 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  17. ^ Broadbent, Steve (4 March 2014). "Chiltern plots further expansion". Rail. No. 769. pp. 46–53.
  18. ^ "Porterbrook on LinkedIn: #HybridFLEX #finalgreenmile". www.linkedin.com. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  19. ^ "First battery-diesel hybrid train runs between London and Aylesbury". BBC News. 10 February 2022. Archived 11 February 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  20. ^ "Hybridflex Class 168 set to be deconverted". Railways Illustrated. 5 September 2023. Retrieved 2 January 2026. – via Gb.readly.com.
  21. ^ "Chiltern pioneer Shooter recognised with statue". Modern Railways. No. 899. October 2022. p. 16.
  22. ^ Bendall, Simon & Coward, Andy (May 2024). "Naming Update". Railways Illustrated. No. 255. p. 22.

Further reading

  • "First post-privatisation new train enters service on Chiltern Lines". RAIL. No. 332. EMAP Apex Publications. 16 June 1998. p. 11. ISSN 0953-4563. OCLC 49953699