Rolling stock › In serviceData updated
Class 165 Networker Turbo
Diesel trains of British Rail's Networker family: Class 165/0s with Chiltern Railways and Class 165/1s with GWR, which maintains its own at Reading. A three-car Thames Trains 165 was wrecked in the Ladbroke Grove collision on 5 October 1999. Chiltern refurbished its 165/0s in 2003–2005, fitting air conditioning, CCTV, new passenger information screens and a wheelchair space.
Shown
Scale
about 152 ft (46 m) over couplers (added up as drawn)
Class 165 Networker Turbo · schematic drawing GB Trains · gbtrains.uk/stock/165/ · CC BY 4.0
You’re welcome to use this drawing
Free to use, change and share, in print or online, under CC BY 4.0. Please credit it:
Drawing: GB Trains, gbtrains.uk, CC BY 4.0Online, link the words to this page. The downloaded file already carries the credit; please leave it on. What the licence covers
Liveries 2
The same measured train in each livery, each drawn from a cited source. The drawing above shows the largest fleet’s.
Former liveries 4
Network SouthEastFormer1990 to 1996Not drawn yet
Thames TrainsFormer1996 to 2004Not drawn yet
First Great Western LinkFormer2004 to 2015Not drawn yet
Chiltern RailwaysChiltern Railways (first livery)White, with a blue band along the windows, blue doors and a red line low on the body.FormerNot drawn yet
- Type
- Diesel multiple unit
- Builder
- BREL
- Family
- Networker, with Class 166 Networker Express Turbo, Class 465 Networker, Class 466 Networker
- Built
- 1990–1992
- In service
- since 1991
- Operators
- Chiltern Railways, GWR
- Formation
- 2 or 3 cars
- Fleets
- Chiltern Railways: 39; Great Western Railway: 36
- Top speed
- 75 mph (121 km/h) for the 165/0s (Chiltern); 90 mph (145 km/h) for the 165/1s (GWR)
- Power
- Diesel · how it works
- Bogies
- BREL P3-17 power bogies (Networker Turbo); BREL T3-17 trailer bogies (Networker Turbo) · drawn with the same bogie component as Class 166 Networker Express Turbo
- Train length
- about 152 ft (46 m) (added up as drawn)
- Coupled
- 2 × 2 cars, about 303 ft (92 m) (the units’ lengths added)
- Car height
- 12 ft 5 in (3.79 m)
- Car width
- 9 ft 3 in (2.81 m)
- Profile
- main-line
- Seats per train
- 171 (two-car Chiltern 165/0, as drawn); 161 (two-car GWR 165/1)
- Total capacity
- A two-car 165/1 (GWR): 161 seats and 2 wheelchair spaces, with room for 61 standing; a three-car 165/1: 249 standard and 16 first-class seats, 99 standing (DfT's 2022 contract with GWR, Table 2; its Table 1 gives 159 and 259). Chiltern's 165/0s: 171 seats in two cars and 277 in three, no first class (DfT's 2021 contract with Chiltern). The contracts' figures, not counted seats
- Status
- In service with Chiltern Railways (publicly owned since 20 September 2026) and GWR (due to pass to public ownership on 13 December 2026). Since Chiltern's Mark 5A sets began running on 26 January 2026, its 165s work mainly the shorter routes such as Aylesbury and High Wycombe; Chiltern says they need replacing, but no order has been placed.
Car types
| Code | Car | Length | Weight (tare) | Doors per side |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DMCL(A) | Driving motor composite with lavatory (DMCL(A)): two-car units | 77 ft 1 in23.50 m | 38.5 t | 2 double |
| DMCL(B) | Driving motor composite with lavatory (DMCL(B)): three-car units | 77 ft 1 in23.50 m | 38.5 t | 2 double |
| MS | Motor standard (MS) | 76 ft 3 in23.25 m | 2 double | |
| DMS | Driving motor standard (DMS) | 77 ft 1 in23.50 m | 38.333 t | 2 double |
Sources
How we source figures → · Spotted a mistake? Tell us → (opens in a new tab)
Show the 35 sources from Wikimedia Commons, First Great Western Link, via the Internet Archive, Department for Transport and 11 more
- Class 165 Angel Trains20 two-car and 16 three-car units (165/1), car lengths, width, 90 mph (145 km/h), builder
- GWR Engineering FirstGroup careersmaintained at Reading
- First Greater Western Limited 2022: national rail contract (public register copy) Department for Transport, 8 December 2022 (contract dated 14 June 2022), pp. 82, 84operator: GWR runs all 36 Class 165/1s
- 165 profile.jpg: GWR Class 165/1 DMCL 58953 near Topsham (photograph, CC BY 4.0) kitmasterbloke (Flickr), via Wikimedia Commons, 24 December 2025the drawing's heights, door-leaf windows, cab door width, window rails, cab livery and colours (measured off the photograph); the saloon windows' frame, corners and top-light bar, the door leaves' width and the roof boxes, measured square on (set T5, Kyle, 20 October 2026); the cab door's window height, re-measured (set TFF)
- British Rail Class 165 Wikipedia, accessed 2 October 2026height 12 ft 5 in (3.79 m)
- GWR Class 802 photographs (802001, 802018, 802101, 802108) Wikimedia Commons (Alex Noble CC0; Foulger Rail Photos CC BY-SA 2.0; Geof Sheppard CC BY-SA 4.0), 2017-2025GWR green and orange line of the drawing (as sampled for the Class 802)
- Class 165/166 Turbo: Braking Systems (Reading Turbo Maintenance Depot training manual, scanned) First Great Western Link, via the Internet Archive (fgw-reading-tmd-class-165-166-manuals), undated (2004-06); uploaded 2023, p. 5side elevation of the DMCL(A), 'DMOCL A' (measured)
- Class 165/166 Turbo: Construction & Couplers (Reading Turbo Maintenance Depot training manual, scanned) First Great Western Link, via the Internet Archive (fgw-reading-tmd-class-165-166-manuals), undated (2004-06); uploaded 2023, pp. 22, 9side elevation of the three-car DMCL(B) (measured); bodyshell sketch of the intermediate vehicle
- Class 165/166 Turbo: Air Supply & Distribution System (Reading Turbo Maintenance Depot training manual, scanned) First Great Western Link, via the Internet Archive (fgw-reading-tmd-class-165-166-manuals), undated (2004-06); uploaded 2023, pp. 18-19plan outlines of the driving and intermediate vehicles (the MS symmetrical, gangways at both ends)
- Class 165/166 Turbo: W.S.P. (Reading Turbo Maintenance Depot training manual, scanned) First Great Western Link, via the Internet Archive (fgw-reading-tmd-class-165-166-manuals), undated (2004-06); uploaded 2023, p. 6the DMS's cab end: a small window between the windows behind the cab
- GWR 165120 at Farnborough North and Reading Green Park (photographs) Wikimedia Commons, 2020scheck: five windows between the DMCL(A)'s doors (car D) and the DMS's small window (car E)
- National Rail Contract: Chiltern (public register copy) Department for Transport, 2 December 2021, pp. 76-77Chiltern's 39 Class 165/0s: 28 two-car and 11 three-car
- British Rail (Commons debate, Hansard) UK Parliament, Hansard, 1991-03-13The first of 89 Class 165 Networker vehicles for the Marylebone lines was handed over in February 1991
- Our train fleet (Class 165 stats: years of construction 1990–1992, BREL York) Chiltern Railways (archived 20 Sept 2008), 2008-09-20Operator gives the build years as 1990–1992, by British Rail Engineering Ltd, York; the 2003–2005 refurbishment, with air conditioning, CCTV, passenger information screens and a wheelchair space
- 'Chiltern 165018 (58818) bogie.JPG' (photograph: a bogie on 165018, with the shoebeam for the tripcock; CC BY-SA 4.0) Wikimedia Commons (Geof Sheppard)the bogie's likeness to the shared Sprinter style (layout only)
- 165108-RoyalOak-P1410479 (35954784420).jpg (photograph, 28 July 2017, CC0) Wikimedia Commons (citytransportinfo), 28 July 2017the door leaves' colour (overcast, glossy)
- DMU 165 136.jpg (photograph, 16 July 2021, CC BY-SA 2.0) Wikimedia Commons (hugh llewelyn), 16 July 2021the door leaves' colour (sun)
- 165 profile.jpg: GWR Class 165/1 DMCL 58953 near Topsham (photograph, CC BY 4.0) kitmasterbloke (Flickr), via Wikimedia Commons, 24 December 2025layout of the underframe equipment and the cab's lower side (layout only)
- Class 165/166 Turbo: Braking Systems (Reading Turbo Maintenance Depot training manual, scanned) First Great Western Link, via the Internet Archive (fgw-reading-tmd-class-165-166-manuals), undated (2004-06); uploaded 2023, p. 5layout of the underframe equipment (the DMCL(A)'s side view)
- 166214 (58614) GWR branding detail.JPG (photograph, CC BY-SA 3.0) Geof Sheppard, via Wikimedia Commons, 2 May 2016the MS's underframe by its bogie (layout only)
- First Greater Western Limited 2022: national rail contract (public register copy) Department for Transport, 8 December 2022 (contract dated 14 June 2022), p. 84seats per unit (GWR's 165/1s)
- National Rail Contract: Chiltern (public register copy) Department for Transport, 2 December 2021, p. 75seats per unit (Chiltern's 165/0s)
- Class 165/166 Turbo: Construction & Couplers (Reading Turbo Maintenance Depot training manual, scanned) First Great Western Link, via the Internet Archive (fgw-reading-tmd-class-165-166-manuals), undated (2004-06); uploaded 2023, p. 15the bogie types, BREL P3-17 (power) and T3-17 (trailer); estimated tare weights, a DMOCL 38.5 t and a DMOS 38.333 t
- Transfer of Chiltern Railways services into public ownership (written statement) Department for Transport, GOV.UK, 13 October 2026status: Chiltern in public ownership since 20 September 2026; GWR's services to follow on 13 December 2026
- Chiltern Railways Mk 5As enter passenger service RAIL (Rich Wilcock), 27 January 2026status: Chiltern's Mark 5A sets in passenger service from 26 January 2026
- Chiltern Railways making case for discontinuous electrification to replace ageing DMUs RAIL, 29 October 2025status: the Mark 5As moving the 165s onto shorter routes such as Aylesbury and High Wycombe; Chiltern says they need replacing urgently (no replacement order found)
- Knorr-Bremse secures extended HVAC maintenance contract with Chiltern Railways Knorr-Bremse Rail Systems UK, undated (read 19 October 2026)the air-conditioning (HVAC) systems on Chiltern's Class 165s and 168s
- The Ladbroke Grove Rail Inquiry, Part 1 Report Health and Safety Commission (HSE Books), 2001 (ISBN 0 7176 2056 5), p. para 3.1the Thames Trains three-car Class 165 in the Ladbroke Grove collision of 5 October 1999 (no unit number given)
- 165120 passes Farnborough North station in April 2025.jpg (photograph) Wikimedia Commons, 12 April 2025the door leaves' colour: dark, with the green line (GWR, April 2025)
- 20230527 Chiltern 165003 Wikimedia Commons (CC0), 27 May 2023Chiltern's livery on a Class 165
- 165010 & 165015, Saunderton, May 11th 2026.jpg (photograph) Wikimedia Commons, 11 May 2026the blue from just ahead of the cab door; the front yellow only below the black mask, the cab dome silver with the red line over it (photograph; layout only)
- 165026 - MYB.jpg (photograph) Wikimedia Commons, 30 October 2023the band over the cab door; its top (blue to about 10 ft 1 in (3,080 mm), light blue to about 3,135) read on the cab door window (oblique photograph, to about 50 mm)
- Class 165 165029 Chiltern Railways Marylebone Station 06-03-2024.jpg (cvtperson, CC BY-SA 2.0) Wikimedia Commons, 2024-03-22165029: the front's colours (yellow below the mask only), the grey band's colour (#4A4E52, indoors) and the band's top (oblique photograph)
- British Rail Class 165 Wikipedia, read 13 October 2026the livery's name, who ran it and its years (no colours taken)
- Banbury railway station MMB 13 165033 165031.jpg (photograph) Wikimedia Commons, 27 August 2011the livery on 165033 and 165031 at Banbury, 27 August 2011 (photograph; its colours, not its years)
_bogie.JPG){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
_GWR_branding_detail.JPG){kind=link}
unverified
- The drawing: from two traced, undimensioned elevations in FGW's depot manuals, scaled to the 77 ft 1 in (23.50 m) car (they agree within 40 mm)
- Heights, door-leaf windows and the cab door's rear edge: from a photograph (the manuals draw window bottoms and door tops up to 140 mm lower and the cab door about 150 mm narrower)
- Wheelbase 8 ft 5 in (2,570 mm) and wheels 2 ft 8 in (820 mm): measured off the drawings (2,546-2,597 and 780-849)
- The MS: no manual draws its side; drawn with the DMCL's inner end at each end
- Colours: sampled from photographs; no paint colour values have been published
- Car height 12 ft 5 in (3.79 m; Wikipedia); the drawing's roof is 12 ft 5 in (3.78 m)
- The DMS: its cab end from the W.S.P. manual's view of the other side; between the doors and at the inner end it is drawn as the DMCL(A)
- Build years 1990–1992 (Chiltern Railways' own fleet page only)
- The bogies: BREL P3-17 power and T3-17 trailer bogies, laid out from 58953's photograph (level and square-on); which end of the MS carries the power bogie isn't known
- The underframe: read off one level photograph of one side of a 165/1 driving car (58953), heights to about 40 mm; the other car types and the far side drawn alike (the manual and two more photographs agree where they show it); the case beyond the inner bogie from the 166's middle car
- The car weights: estimated tare weights from FGW's Reading depot manual for the Class 165 and 166 (Construction & Couplers, p. 15, about 2004-06): a DMOCL with its fuel and toilet water tanks full 38.5 t, a DMOS with its fuel tank full 38.333 t; it doesn't say which sub-class it means or whether the 166 differs, and gives no figure for the MS
- Chiltern silver and blue: the band's top (blue to 10 ft 1 in (3,080 mm), light blue to 3,135) and the blue's front edge over the cab door (3 ft 1 in (950 mm), +/-100): read off oblique photographs only (165026, 165029, 165010, 165003); its foot and the grey band are measured square on (165018)
- Chiltern silver and blue: the front side on: the black band's foot (5 ft 6 in (1,680 mm)) read on front three-quarter views of 165010, 165029 and 165003 (1,635-1,747), each scaled from the ledge's top to the body's foot; the windscreen's side edge and the ledge's end taken from 58953 (GWR, the same body); no level side-on photograph of a Chiltern front
- The years of the former liveries come from Wikipedia's class article and the other sources listed, and haven't been checked against a second source.
Know a source for one of these? Send it to us → (opens in a new tab)