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British Rail Class 168
*Clubman*
British Rail Class 168; Clubman
	Chiltern Railways Class 168/0 at Birmingham Moor Street
	Post 2008 refurbished Class 168/0 saloon
In service	20 May 1998 – present
Manufacturer	Adtranz; Bombardier Transportation;
Built at	Derby Litchurch Lane Works
Family name	Clubman / Turbostar
Constructed	1998–2004
Refurbished	2007–2008 2024–present
Number built	19 (plus 9 converted from Cl. 170/3)
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;
Fleet numbers	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;
Owners	Eversholt Rail Group; Porterbrook;
Operators	Chiltern Railways
Lines served	Chiltern Main Line; London Marylebone – Aylesbury; London Marylebone – Oxford; Princes Risborough – Aylesbury;
Specifications
Car body construction	Welded aluminium, with steel body ends
Car length	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);
Width	2.69 m (8 ft 10 in)
Height	3.77 m (12 ft 4 in)
Doors	Double-leaf sliding plug (2 per side per car)
Maximum speed	100 mph (160 km/h)
Prime mover(s)	All units except 168329:; 2–4 × MTU 6R 183 TD 13H; Unit 168329:; 2 × MTU 6H 1800 R76; (all one per car);
Engine type	6R 183: I6 4-stroke turbo-diesel; 6H 1800: same, plus SCR;
Displacement	6R 183: 13 L (790 cu in)[citation needed]; 6H 1800: 12.81 L (782 cu in); (all per engine);
Power output	315 kW (422 hp) per engine
Transmission	All units except 168329:; Voith T 211 rzze (hydrokinetic); Unit 168329:; ZF EcoWorld 6 AP 2500R; (all one per car);
Acceleration	0.5 m/s2 (1.1 mph/s)
Bogies	Adtranz/Bombardier; Powered: P3-23; Unpowered: T3-23;
Braking system(s)	Electro-pneumatic (disc)
Safety system(s)	AWS; BR ATP (except 168/3s); TPWS; Tripcock;
Coupling system	BSI
Multiple working	Within class, and with Class 165
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Notes/references
	Sourced from except where otherwise noted

The Class 168 Clubman is a British diesel-hydraulic multiple unit passenger train used on Chiltern Line services between London Marylebone 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 Class 165 units previously built 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 the Class 170 Turbostar and thus are part of the Turbostar family of trains.

History

Network SouthEast originally planned the Class 168 for its expansion of service on the Chiltern Main Line to Birmingham Snow Hill or New Street. 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.^[16]

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 3-car sets but later lengthened to 4-car sets.

One unit has been converted to hybrid operation as of 2022, but is to be reverted to normal specifications following failed operations.^[17]

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 & charging points, as well as a new revised livery.^[18] The first unit to be refurbished was unveiled on 10 October 2024.^[19]

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.^[20] 168329 has been converted by Porterbrook into a diesel/battery hybrid. It was tested in 2021 on the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway^[21] and entered service as "HybridFlex" in February 2022.^[22]

Fleet details

Fleet details
Class	Operator	Qty.	Year built	Cars per unit	Unit numbers
168/0	Chiltern Railways	5	1998	4	168001–168005
168/1		2	2000	4	168106–168107
168/1		6	2000	3	168108–168113
168/2		3	2004	3	168214, 168218–168219
168/2		3	2004	4	168215–168217
168/3 ^[20]		8	2000	2	168321–168328
168/3 ^[20]		1	2000	2	168329 ("HybridFlex" demonstrator)

Named units

The following units been named:

168001 Adrian Shooter^[23]
168215 Marylebone Station 125 Years^[24]

References

^ "Chiltern Railways: About us - Our train fleet". Chiltern Railways. Archived from the original on 3 July 2010. Retrieved 23 August 2010.
^ "Mk 5s could release '168s' for East West Rail". 22 March 2024.
^ Class 170 & 171 Diesel Multiple Unit (PDF) (1A ed.). Derby: Porterbrook Leasing Company. September 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 November 2015. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
^ ^a ^b "Class 168". London: Eversholt Rail Group. Archived from the original on 6 August 2021. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
^ Sherratt, Philip, ed. (2023). "ROSCO Fleets". Modern Railways: Review 2023. Stamford: Key Publishing. pp. 18–19. ISBN 978-1-80282-569-5.
^ "Turbostar – United Kingdom". Bombardier Transportation. Archived from the original on 13 June 2011. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
^ MTU Rail Power for the UK & Ireland (PDF). MTU Friedrichshafen GmbH. September 2018. p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 December 2022. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
^ "HybridFLEX Battery-Diesel Train, UK". Railway Technology. London: Verdict Media. Archived from the original on 23 September 2021. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d MTU Hybrid Powerpack Series 1800 for Railcar Applications (PDF) (01/22 ed.). Friedrichshafen: Rolls-Royce Power Systems AG. 26 August 2022. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 December 2022. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
^ ^a ^b Class 168 Diesel Multiple Unit (PDF) (1A ed.). Derby: Porterbrook Leasing Company. September 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 July 2015. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
^ "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.
^ "Cutting Emissions – cleaner, greener Turbostars". Rail Engineer. Coalville: Rail Media Group. 26 April 2022. Archived from the original on 23 May 2022. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
^ "Hybrid Powerpacks for Railcars". Rail Solution Guide (PDF) (01/22 ed.). Friedrichshafen: Rolls-Royce Power Systems AG. 26 August 2022. p. 13. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 December 2022. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
^ System Data for Mechanical and Electrical Coupling of Rail Vehicles in support of GM/RT2190 (PDF). London: Rail Safety and Standards Board. 22 June 2011. p. 4. SD001. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 April 2012. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
^ Webster, Neil; Hall, Peter; Fox, Peter (2001). British Railways Locomotives & Coaching Stock 2001. Sheffield: Platform 5 Publishing. pp. 207–208. ISBN 1-902336-19-4.
^ Green, Chris; Vincent, Mike (2014). The Network SouthEast Story. OPC. ISBN 9780860936534.
^ "…But HybridFLEX Class 168 set to be de-converted". Railways Illustrated. No. 248. October 2023. p. 13.
^ "Capacity challenges on Chiltern Railways services | Chiltern Railways". www.chilternrailways.co.uk. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
^ "Chiltern Railways unveils refurbished Class 168 train". RailAdvent. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
^ ^a ^b Broadbent, Steve (4 March 2014). "Chiltern plots further expansion". Rail Magazine. No. 769. Peterborough. pp. 46–53.
^ "Porterbrook on LinkedIn: #HybridFLEX #finalgreenmile". www.linkedin.com. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
^ "First battery-diesel hybrid train runs between London and Aylesbury". BBC News. 10 February 2022. Archived from the original on 11 February 2022. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
^ "Chiltern pioneer Shooter recognised with statue". Modern Railways. No. 899. October 2022. p. 16.
^ Bendall, Simon; Coward, Andy (May 2024). "Naming Update". Fleet Review. Railways Illustrated. No. 255. p. 22.