Description
These trains are owned by Eversholt Rail Group (formerly HSBC Rail) and leased back to Southeastern for operation from London to Kent and parts of East Sussex.
The first batch of 30 trains (Class 375/6) were fitted with both a pantograph and third-rail shoes for dual voltage, where the remainder of these trains have one coach in each unit with a recess where the pantograph could be fitted, allowing for future conversion to run on AC power from overhead lines. Although the units are normally operated on 750V DC lines only, the class is numbered in the 3xx series which usually refers to AC operation. The option is available for the 375/6 units to be leased to a network which operates on 25kV AC overhead lines.
Southern's Class 375 units have since been converted to Class 377. The ex-375s, akin to Southern's 377/3, have a mixture of grey, plum and blue seats as opposed to the 377/2 and 377/4 (there were two batches of the 377/1: 101-139 All have the mixed seating colours, whereas 140-169 have green uniformed seating). The 375/3, 375/6 and 375/7 types all have smaller headlight and a slightly different interior than the 375/8 and 375/9. The 375/3, 375/6 and 375/7 all have glass overhead racks, and the poles in the train bend straight down.
The class 375/8 and 375/9 have holes in the overhead racks, and the poles bend right the way around. Out of all the seating arrangements in 375s, the 375/9 stands out as it has 2+3 seating layout, unlike all other 375 series. The layout in the interior is also different. The chairs are more upright and not as comfortable as the 375/3, 375/6, 375/7 or 375/8, but the legroom is better. The 375/9 was designed with rush hour commuters in mind. On the exterior of a 375/8 and 375/9 there are a few small differences with the headlights. The 375/8 and 375/9 have bigger headlights and they are of the LED type which can change to white or red.
The Class 375 is the principal new train used by Southeastern, and has replaced the expired Mark 1 derived stock on mainline services to Kent; all the Southeastern units have also been converted from Tightlock to Dellner couplers, but unlike the Southern fleet, they have not been reclassified as 377s. The 375/8 and 375/9 sub-classes were built with Dellner couplers from new.
The Class 375 has GPS built in, so if the train configuration is too long for a particular station, the doors which are overhanging the platform will not open.
From August 2011, Southeastern has begun a minor refresh of the interiors of the units, with a full re-trim of the seating in the company's new purple moquette (as seen on the refreshed 465/466 units) and the addition of new CCTV cameras.
Read more about this topic: British Rail Class 375
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