Class 332 Profile and Models
332005 at London Paddington in January 2007. ©Peter Skuce
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The British Rail Class 332 was a type of electric multiple unit passenger train built between 1997 and 1998 by CAF, with traction equipment supplied by Siemens Transportation Systems. Fourteen units were built for dedicated use on Heathrow Express services between London Paddington and Heathrow Airport. The Class first entered service on 19 January 1998 when services commenced from London Paddington to Heathrow Junction. They operated through to Terminal 4 from May 1998 until March 2008, when the Heathrow Express was diverted to serve Terminal 5. The units had automatic train protection (ATP), one of the few fleets in the UK to do so. This was largely as a consequence of the Paddington-Heathrow route being mainly on the Great Western Main Line, which was equipped with ATP in the early 1990s as part of a trial of the system by British Rail. Apart from three carriages from 332001 that were retained by Siemens, the remaining sets were scrapped by Sims Metal, Newport in the first quarter of 2021. |
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Type of Unit |
Electric Multiple Unit - 25kV 50Hz AC Overhead |
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Builder |
CAF |
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Build Dates |
1997 to 2002 |
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Total Built |
14 sets |
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Coaches Per Unit |
4 or 5-car |
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Power Output |
1,900hp |
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Top Speed |
109 mph |
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Passenger Capacity |
203 to 267 seats |
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Operated By |
Heathrow Express |
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Main Duties |
Express Passenger |
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In Service Until |
2020 |
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Surviving Examples |
3 individual cars |
