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Class 172 Turbostar
The last of Bombardier's Turbostar diesels, built at Derby in 2010–11 for London Overground, Chiltern and London Midland. All 39 now run for West Midlands Railway on the Snow Hill lines; London Midland's 27 have a gangway in the cab front, and the 12 that came from London Overground and Chiltern don't.
Scale
Class 172 Turbostar · indicative drawing GB Trains · gbtrains.uk/stock/172/ · CC BY 4.0
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Liveries 1
West Midlands RailwayWest Midlands RailwayGold and purple, coloured from photographs of 172218 and 172344; the rhombuses from photographs (WMR rhombuses (10 October 2026))Shown aboveFormer liveries 4
London OvergroundRan as London Overground (172/0)FormerJul 2010 to 2018/19Not drawn yet
Chiltern RailwaysRan as Chiltern Railways (172/1)FormerSummer 2011 to Spring 2021Not drawn yet
London Midland (172/2, 172/3)FormerSep 2011 to Dec 2017Not drawn yet
West Midlands Trains earlyFormerDec 2017 to c.2021+Not drawn yet
- Type
- Diesel multiple unit
- Builder
- Bombardier Transportation (now Alstom), Derby Litchurch Lane
- Family
- Turbostar, with Class 168 Clubman, Class 170 Turbostar, Class 171 Turbostar
- Built
- 2010–2011
- In service
- since 2010
- Operators
- WMR
- Formation
- 2 or 3 cars: two-car 172/2 (DMOS-DMOSL(W)); two-car 172/0 and 172/1 (DMOS-DMOS(W), Angel Trains); three-car 172/3 (DMOS-MOS-DMOSL(W))
- Trains in fleet
- 39
- Fleets
- West Midlands Railway: 39
- Top speed
- 100 mph (161 km/h)
- Power
- Diesel: an MTU 6H1800R83 engine of 360 kW under each car, with a ZF mechanical gearbox (a ZF Ecomat 5HP902R on Angel Trains' 172/0s and 172/1s) and a ZF final drive · how it works
- Bogies
- Bombardier B 5005 bogies · drawn with the same bogie component as Class 220 Voyager, Class 222 Meridian
- Car height
- 12 ft 4 in (3.77 m)
- Car width
- 8 ft 10 in (2.69 m)
- Profile
- main-line
- Air-conditioned
- Yes
- Seats per train
- 219
- Standing (5 per m²)
- 306
- Total capacity
- Three-car 172/3: 219 seats, 16 of them tip-up (68 + 8, 72 + 8 and 63 per car, Porterbrook), + 306 standing at 5 per m², calculated from Porterbrook's floor areas (61.21 m²). Two-car 172/2: 139 seats, 8 of them tip-up. Platform 5 (via Wikipedia) gives the same totals split as 192 + 27 and 120 + 19 tip-up
- Status
- In service: 39 units (24 two-car and 15 three-car) with West Midlands Railway, run in public ownership by DfT Operator since 1 February 2026, and maintained at Tyseley. After a shortage of parts cut the Snow Hill lines' timetable in spring 2025, West Midlands Railway said the whole fleet was being overhauled with new wheelsets, final drives and brake discs (March 2025).
unverified Some of these figures haven’t yet been checked against an official source or a published history. What’s in doubt ↓
Car types
| Code | Car | Length | Weight (tare) | Doors per side |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DMOS | Driving motor open standard (DMOS) | 77 ft 6 in23.62 m | 41.9 t | 2 double |
| MOS | Motor open standard (MOS), in three-car 172/3s | 75 ft 6 in23.00 m | 38.7 t | 2 double |
| DMOSLW | Driving motor open standard with lavatory and wheelchair space (DMOSL(W)) | 77 ft 6 in23.62 m | 42.5 t | 2 double |
| DMOS0 | Driving motor open standard (DMOS) of a 172/0 or 172/1, with the plain cab | 75 ft 2 in22.92 m | 2 double | |
| DMOSL0 | The other driving car of a 172/0 or 172/1 (DMOS(W), Angel Trains), with the plain cab | 75 ft 2 in22.92 m | 2 double |
Sources
How we source figures → · Spotted a mistake? Tell us → (opens in a new tab)
Show the 28 sources from Wikimedia Commons, Elliott Brown, via Flickr, Porterbrook and 10 more
- Class 172 Diesel Multiple Unit (brochure, issue 01 revision A, archived) Porterbrook, January 2014, pp. PDF pp. 5, 7, 9-15172/2 and 172/3: 75 ft (23 m) cars with bi-parting swing-plug doors at 1/3 and 2/3; car lengths 77 ft 6 in (23.62 m) and 75 ft 6 in (23.0 m), width 8 ft 10 in (2.69 m), height 12 ft 4 in (3.77 m); MTU 6H1800R83 360 kW per car, ZF gearbox; 100 mph (161 km/h); seats and floor areas per car; air conditioning; unit list 172211-222 and 172331-345 built 2011; the bogies 'the inside-frame design used on the 125 mph Voyager units'; BSI outer and bar intermediate couplers; the layout diagrams' dimension chains (door centres, cab bulkhead, end lines); the tare weights, from the axle loads weighed on 172333 (printed p. 13: DMOS 41.9 t, MOS 38.7 t, DMOSL(W) 42.5 t; 'Individual vehicles may vary'; set T10, Kyle, 27 October 2026)
- Class 172 Angel Trainseight 172/0 and four 172/1 two-car units, 100 mph (161 km/h), 75 ft (23 m) cars, operators Chiltern and West Midlands Railway; the 172/0 and 172/1 formation DMOS-DMOS(W); the ZF Ecomat 5HP902R transmission with ZF final drive (set T10, Kyle, 27 October 2026)
- Snow Hill & Hereford Routes: amended timetable, spring 2025 (archived) West Midlands Railway, March 202539 Class 172s, 24 two-car and 15 three-car; all Snow Hill lines services; overhaul with new wheelsets, final drives and brake discs
- West Midlands Railway transfers into public ownership West Midlands Trains (press release, Mynewsdesk), 1 February 2026West Midlands Railway in public ownership, run by DfT Operator, from 1 February 2026 (status)
- Successful test run of the first Class 172/0 via Kenilworth (archived) West Midlands Railway, 1 May 2019eight refurbished 172/0s from London Overground in May 2019; 27 existing Class 172s
- Modified electric trains to be used temporarily on London Overground's Gospel Oak to Barking line Transport for London (press release), 25 January 2019London Overground's 172s leaving the Gospel Oak to Barking line
- Huge depot redevelopment completed by West Midlands Railway RAIL (Rich Wilcock), 27 October 2025Tyseley depot, home of the Class 172s
- British Rail Class 172 Wikipedia, read 13 October 2026the 172/1s' move from Chiltern in 2021, first service July 2010 (cross-check only)
- FLEXX appeal: Bombardier's bogie family explained Rail Engineer, 10 October 2013the FLEXX Eco bogie under the Classes 220, 222 and 172 (the bogie drawing)
- LT No 12 Sarah Siddons and 172218 parked at Leamington Spa 27 07 25 Wikimedia Commons (Foulger Rail Photos, CC BY-SA 4.0), 27 July 2025drawing: the cab end, gangway, coupler, cab step, valance, leading bogie and colours (layout and colour only); the cab door's window bar and the door foot's corner (set T10, Kyle, 27 October 2026); the cab side's round cover and box
- Class 172 WMR, Moor Street, May19 Wikimedia Commons (G-13114, CC BY-SA 4.0), 14 May 2019drawing: a driving car's windows, doors, steps and livery layout, rectified on the door centres (layout only); the cab door's window bar and the door foot's corner (set T10, Kyle, 27 October 2026)
- 172331 and 172341 at Worcester Shrub Hill 18th May 2023 Wikimedia Commons (Foulger Rail Photos, CC BY-SA 2.0), 18 May 2023drawing: window counts, the gold car ends and the gangways (layout only)
- Stratford upon Avon Turbostar Wikimedia Commons (Rob Hodgkins, CC BY-SA 2.0), 25 January 2019drawing: window counts on all three cars, the front (layout only)
- 'Class 172 WMR, Moor Street, May19.jpg' (photograph, full size 3,180 x 1,894: 172344 in West Midlands Railway colours at Birmingham Moor Street, three-quarter from the cab end; CC BY-SA 4.0) Wikimedia Commons (G-13114, CC BY-SA 4.0), 14 May 2019the rhombuses at the cab end, measured at full size (drawing)
- '172331 and 172341 at Worcester Shrub Hill 18th May 2023.jpg' (photograph, full size: 172331 in West Midlands Railway colours, three-quarter; CC BY-SA 2.0) Wikimedia Commons (Foulger Rail Photos, CC BY-SA 2.0), 18 May 2023the rhombuses at the inner car ends (drawing)
- 172002 Leamingston Spa Wikimedia Commons (kitmasterbloke, CC BY 2.0), 27 July 2022drawing: the 172/0-1's cab end and bodyside layout, fitted on its doorways; the front's colours, lamps and coupler (layout and colour only); the cab door's window bar and the door foot's corner (set T10, Kyle, 27 October 2026)
- Didcot Railway Centre DMU Gala 06 Wikimedia Commons (The Basingstoker, CC BY-SA 2.0), 28 May 2011drawing: the 172/0-1's leading bogie, windows, valance, step and coupler, layout only (from above, a little ahead of the nose)
- 'Caerdydd Canolog - CrossCountry 170113+170117.JPG' (photograph: two CrossCountry 170s at Cardiff Central, side-on, cab to cab: 170113 in the new red livery, 170117 in the plum and silver; CC BY-SA 4.0) Wikimedia Commons (Geof Sheppard, CC BY-SA 4.0), 29 December 2025the cab coupler: its position, heights and shape (set BC5, 20 October 2026)
- Class 172 Diesel Multiple Unit (brochure, issue 01 revision A, archived) Porterbrook, January 2014the cab coupler: its position, heights and shape (set BC5, 20 October 2026)
- West Midlands Railway 172 339 - Birmingham Moor Street Station (photograph, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) Elliott Brown, via Flickr (40824473565), 26 April 2018layout and depths of the underframe equipment, cab-left side of a 172/3 driving car, door 1 to door 2 (layout only)
- West Midlands Railway 172 339 - Birmingham Moor Street Station (photograph, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) Elliott Brown, via Flickr (39916045430), 26 April 2018the same at the cab end, nearly square on, and the bogie's wheels for the height correction (layout only)
- West Midlands Railway 172 339 - Birmingham Moor Street Station (photograph, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) Elliott Brown, via Flickr (26855500797), 26 April 2018the cab-right side's front half on the other driving car (check, layout only)
- Class 172/0 two-car DMU driving car: dimensioned side elevation and seating plan, with equipment key Supplied by Kyle (21 October 2026); source not stated, not stated (marked 'dimension in ( ) not finally verified, design process ongoing')the cab-right side's underframe boxes: extents and depths, scaled by the 16,000 bogie centres (layout only)
- West Midlands Railway Class 172 two-car unit, side drawing Supplied by Kyle (21 October 2026); artist unknown, not statedthe cab-left side's layout and tones (check, layout only)
- 172002 Leamingston Spa Wikimedia Commons (kitmasterbloke, CC BY 2.0), 27 July 2022the cab-right side's details: drum end, fittings, open engine bay, alternator, access hole, bracket and silencer (layout only)
- 172220 + 172212 at Worcester Shrub Hill 16 04 25 (photograph, CC BY-SA 2.0) Foulger Rail Photos, via Wikimedia Commons, 16 April 2025the same on a 172/2 driving car, cab-right side (check, layout only)
- 172331 and 172341 at Worcester Shrub Hill 18th May 2023 Wikimedia Commons (Foulger Rail Photos, CC BY-SA 2.0), 18 May 2023the same on a 172/3 driving car, cab-right side (check, layout only)
- London Midland Wikipedia, read 13 October 2026the livery's name, who ran it and its years (no colours taken)
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unverified
- The 172/1s' move from Chiltern in 2021 is Wikipedia's; the sub-class counts are Angel Trains' (eight 172/0s, 172001-008, from London Overground in 2019, as West Midlands Railway confirms, and four 172/1s, 172101-104) and Porterbrook's (twelve 172/2s, 172211-222, and fifteen 172/3s, 172331-345)
- Car lengths, height and width are Porterbrook's for its 172/2s and 172/3s; Angel Trains gives 75 ft (23 m) and 9 ft 2 in (2.8 m) for the 172/0s and 172/1s
- Car lengths are probably over couplers, as for Porterbrook's other Turbostar figures (the Class 170's 77 ft 6 in (23.62 m) is 77 ft 4 in (23.56 m) over the body)
- ORR's March 2025 count of West Midlands Trains' diesel vehicles (169) is lower than its fleets add up to, so some 172s may have been out of use
- Drawing: the doorways are placed from Porterbrook's layout diagrams; windows, the cab, its gangway and step, the underframe and the bogie centres from photographs (layout only), so they are estimates to about 100-200 mm
- Drawing: the driving cars' length doesn't quite add up: the layout diagrams' dimension chain and 172218's cab put the gangway face about 4 in to 1 ft 4 in (0.1-0.4 m) nearer the cab bulkhead than Porterbrook's 77 ft 6 in (23.62 m) over couplers allows; the cab is drawn to the 77 ft 6 in (23.62 m)
- Drawing: the bogies are drawn with the Voyagers' B 5005 component (7 ft 5 in (2,250 mm) wheelbase, 2 ft 7 in (780 mm) wheels) on Porterbrook's word that the 172 has the Voyagers' inside-frame design; Wikipedia calls the 172's bogie a B5006, and no dimensioned source for it was found (172218's wheels are 2.87 diameters apart, as 2,250 / 780 are)
- Drawing: the DMOSL(W) is drawn with the DMOS's windows; its toilet side wasn't found photographed side on
- Drawing: the join between the cars is the Class 170's (set C170: the car ends 2 ft 7 in (800 mm) apart, the bellows 3 ft 11 in to 11 ft 10 in (1,200-3,600 mm), read on the 170's level photographs); Kyle's WMR side drawing agrees (about 2 ft 6 in (770 mm), the bellows to about 11 ft 5 in (3,490 mm)), but no level side-on photograph of a 172's own join has been found; Kyle's dimensioned driving-car plan puts the inner end about 100-250 mm nearer the doors than drawn (bodies 77 ft 4 in and 75 ft 1 in (23,559 and 22,878 mm)), so each join may be drawn up to about 1 ft 8 in (0.5 m) too long
- The rhombuses (WMR rhombuses (10 October 2026)): the 730's lattice figures; the cab-end field placed from 172344 (2019), rectified on its cab door, windows and first door to about 120 mm; the inner ends kept at the drawing's earlier gold edges, photographed only obliquely (172331, 2023)
- Drawing, the 172/0 and 172/1 (W13A): no level side-on photograph of their nose was found (172104 at Didcot is from a footbridge, a little ahead of the nose; 172002 at Leamington Spa is three-quarter), so the plain cab is drawn as the Class 170's front (CA170R) ahead of the cab door: its profile, the windscreen round the corner, the yellow panel and lamps, and the lower nose. Its length, 3 ft 8 in (1,129 mm) from the tip to the cab door, makes the driving cars 75 ft 2 in (22.92 m) over couplers, close to Angel Trains' 75 ft (23 m); a distant, level side-on photograph of a 172/0 or 172/1 would settle it
- Drawing, the 172/0 and 172/1: behind the cab door they are drawn as the 172/2-3 (body, windows, doors, bogies, underframe and livery), as 172002 (fitted along its side on its two doorways) and 172104 (its leading bogie about 4 ft 11 in (1,510 mm) behind the cab door, the 172/2-3's 1,476) show to about 100 mm; the dark lower front, the lamps and the coupler under the nose are layout-quality estimates from the same two photographs
- The 172's underframes: side L from photographs to about 100 mm and 60 mm, with the cases' set-in (about 1 ft 6 in (450 mm)) and the height correction estimated; side R's boxes from a plan whose source isn't stated, its details from one three-quarter photograph (about 300 mm); the MOS's layout is the driving car's, not read off a photograph of its own
- 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.
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