British Rail Class 153
The British Rail Class 153 Super Sprinter are single-coach diesel-hydraulic railcars which were converted from two-coach diesel multiple units in the early 1990s. The class was intended for service on rural branch lines, either where passenger numbers do not justify longer trains or to boost the capacity on services with high passenger volume.
Description
In 1987 and 1988, Regional Railways took delivery of 35 two-coach Class 155 units, built by Leyland Bus at its Workington factory, to replace older DMUs. After the Class 155s entered service, a further requirement emerged for the replacement of ageing railcars on rural lines, mostly of and. British Rail decided to meet this need by dividing each unit in the Regional Railways Class 155 fleet into two separate railcars that could then be converted for use independently, which would create a fleet of 70 vehicles. The seven further Class 155 units that had been delivered to the West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive in 1989 were not included in this plan.In 1990, British Rail awarded a contract for the work to Hunslet-Barclay and it was undertaken at the firm's Kilmarnock plant in 1991 and 1992. The Class 155 units had been numbered from 155301 to 155335 and consisted of DMSL vehicles 52301 to 52335 and DMSL vehicles 57301 to 57335. After separation, the DMSL vehicles were given new unit numbers from 153301 to 153335, while the DMSL vehicles were renumbered 57351 to 57385 and given matching 'unit' numbers from 153351 to 153385.
The conversion involved retrofitting a driver's cab into the spaces previously used for luggage racks at the "inside" end of each vehicle, where each vehicle had previously been coupled back-to-back with its matching opposite in a Class 155 formation. This new cab is notably smaller than the original one at the A-end, as the positions of the exterior doors were not changed during the conversion, and it was necessary to reduce the size of the vestibule slightly in order to provide enough space for the driver. The difference in cab sizes is visible from the outside of the vehicle, which appears unsymmetrical when viewed from the sides. The arrangement of headlights on the new cab end is also different to that on the original cab end.
They are fitted with BSI automatic couplers and are able to work in tandem with other multiple units with BSI couplers and compatible coupler electrical wiring; these are Classes,,,,,,,, and. Gangway connections are provided at either end to allow passengers and staff to walk between units working in multiple, in-class as well as 150/2, 155, 156, 158 and 159. The maximum speed of was unchanged.
Operations
Current operations
Wales & Borders
has a fleet of 24 Class 153s in active service. They are normally used on rural branch lines – such as the Heart of Wales Line from to and on local stopping services from to via – but are also used on some mainline services. One is used daily on the short to shuttle.Following a timetable change in December 2006, Arriva Trains Wales had lost three of its then-11 Class 153 units, leaving it with eight. Two were transferred to East Midlands Trains with the other going to First Great Western. In October 2018 all eight passed with the franchise to Transport for Wales, who acquired a further five from Great Western Railway in April 2019, five from Abellio Greater Anglia in December 2019, four from East Midlands Railway in January 2020 and another two from EMR in November 2020, which brought the total number up to 24 until a further two units were acquired.
As at February 2020, Transport for Wales was the only train operating company to have modified 153s to comply with the requirements of the Persons with Reduced Mobility Technical Specification for Interoperability, which came into effect on 1 January 2020. In June 2021, the new state-owned Transport for Wales Rail purchased eight outright for continued use on the Heart of Wales line after plans to replace them with units were cancelled. In July 2022, the refurbishment of the 26 units was completed.
On 19 February 2025 the first of the Active Travel Class 153/5s entered service with Transport For Wales Rail.
The last Active Travel 153/5 unit to enter service entered service on 25 September 2025.
Scotland
In 2019 and 2020, five former GWR 153s moved from Northern to Abellio ScotRail for use on West Highland Line services between Glasgow and, in conjunction with ScotRail's existing fleet. The first refurbished carriage was unveiled in late 2020. The first unit began service on 19 July 2021.The trains have also been refurbished inside providing free Wi-Fi, plug and USB sockets, and maps of the West Highland Line on the tables. ScotRail describe the service offering as Highland Explorer and charge a £10 upgrade fee for passengers using it. Due to a local agreement with driver's union ASLEF, ScotRail's Class 153s can only be driven from the A-end cab the B-end cab being considered too cramped for long-distance driving.
Network Rail
In May 2021, Network Rail purchased three units for use on infrastructure monitoring services.Former operations
Regional Railways
operated Class 153s on many branch lines throughout the Midlands, Wales and Northern England, both individually and with other classes of Sprinter unit. They were initially allocated to Heaton, Cardiff Canton, Plymouth Laira, Crown Point and Tyseley. Class 153s were often found working services from;- to
- to
- to via
- to
- to and
- to and
Post privatisation
South West England
took over the Wessex Trains fleet upon the merger of the two franchises. Wessex Trains had, in turn, inherited its fleet of 13 units from its predecessor Wales & West.Units were used on local services in Cornwall, Devon, and around Bristol. They were also used on to,, and services, and the via to Southampton Central service.
In mid-2004, Wessex Trains received a further two units from Central Trains to allow it to lengthen some services.
Following the introduction of a new timetable in December 2006, four units were taken off lease and stored at Eastleigh Works. After a period in storage these four units were pressed into service with East Midlands Trains.
In December 2007, First Great Western received an additional Class 153 from Arriva Trains Wales, bringing its total to 12. This unit arrived in the blue with gold star livery of former operator First North Western.
For summer 2011, two London Midland Class 153s were allocated to the South West for strengthening purposes, based at Exeter TMD for the duration. This allocation was eventually made permanent as a result of London Midland keeping three units after the new entered service. This brought First Great Western's number of Class 153 units up to 14.
Nine of those 14 units later left the fleet, with the remaining five moving to Transport for Wales in April 2019 after being displaced by internal cascading.
East Anglia
inherited a small fleet of seven units, for local services in Suffolk and Norfolk. Services operated by these units included to,, and, and to Lowestoft, and. One set was also hired to First Great Eastern for use on the Gainsborough line.In 2004, Anglia Railways became part of the Greater Anglia franchise operated by One which was subsequently renamed National Express East Anglia. Two units left the franchise to East Midlands Trains. During 2012, Porterbrook began refurbishing the body and interiors and repainting them in base white with red doors and Greater Anglia logos.
In 2014, a rolling refurbishment of Abellio Greater Anglia's Class 153s commenced, which included new interior panels, tables, carpets and lighting. All were replaced by in late 2019. These then moved to Transport for Wales in December 2019 to cover for delays with its new rolling stock.
West Midlands
used eight Class 153 DMUs on commuter lines in the West Midlands including the to line and the Marston Vale line between and. After the deployment of from London Overground and on those two lines, they were used with s and s on Birmingham-Hereford and Snow Hill Lines.All eight were inherited from Central Trains in their livery. All were repainted into London Midland city lines livery upon refurbishment at Eastleigh Works. The Class 153s that were used on the Stourbridge Town branch line have been replaced by new built lightweight railcars. This was due to take place in December 2008, but the delivery of the new units was delayed, and after several months of bustitution London Midland reintroduced diesel services from 15 March pending the completion of Class 139 testing. The Class 139 received passenger certification from Network Rail in March 2009 and the service finally began three months later. In December 2020 the final Class 153s were withdrawn from service and put into long-term storage. Before withdrawal, they mostly operated on the Birmingham-Hereford line.
East Midlands
inherited many examples of Class 153 units, receiving six from Central Trains, three from National Express East Anglia and four former First Great Western units that had been stored at Eastleigh Works. In December 2007, East Midlands Trains received two from Arriva Trains Wales and two from Northern Rail. All passed with the East Midlands franchise to East Midlands Railway in August 2019. In January 2020, four were transferred to Transport for Wales. At one point in April 2020, only three EMR Class 153s were in service, following the implementation of an emergency timetable due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with all others being stored out of use as surplus to requirement. Two more returned to services by July 2020, while five others had their leases terminated.All of the East Midlands Trains Class 153 units were repainted into the company's local lines livery.
In July 2010, the first unit 153319 entered Neville Hill TMD for a C6 refresh programme. The work included corrosion repair, internal refresh and a cab refurbishment programme.
East Midlands Railway's fleet of Class 153s were used on rural routes:
- to
- Nottingham to via
- Nottingham to
- to
- to Lincoln and
- to
- Derby to Crewe via
- Cleethorpes to