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Class 185 Desiro
Siemens's diesel Desiro, built in Germany for the TransPennine Express franchise and in service since 2006: a powerful three-car unit for 100 mph (161 km/h) over the Pennines, a diesel sister of the Class 350, 360 and 450 electric trains. TransPennine Express runs all 51: on the South route from Liverpool and Manchester to Sheffield and Cleethorpes, and on North route trains to Hull, Scarborough and Saltburn. Siemens refurbished all 51 at York in 2017-2018, a £32 million programme financed by Eversholt Rail, and TransPennine Express marked 20 years in service in March 2026.
Shown
Scale
Class 185 Desiro · indicative drawing GB Trains · gbtrains.uk/stock/185/ · CC BY 4.0
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Liveries 1
TransPennine ExpressTransPennine ExpressSilver with cyan cab ends and navy lines, purple below, yellow fronts; colours from photographsShown aboveSpecial liveries 3
- Andy's Man Club cab ends (185111) Reported Nov 2023: black background, 'ok' hand gesture, white lightning bolt.
- Manchester Pride pink ends Seen Nov 2016.
- Poppy ends (185123) Nov 2016.
Former liveries 2
'Barbie' test liveryRan as First TransPennine ExpressFormer2006 to 2006Not drawn yet
First 'Dynamic Lines'Ran as First TransPennine ExpressFormer2006 to 2016Not drawn yet
- Type
- Diesel multiple unit
- Builder
- Siemens Transportation Systems, Krefeld-Uerdingen (Germany)
- Family
- Desiro UK, with Class 350 Desiro, Class 360 Desiro, Class 380 Desiro, Class 444 Desiro, Class 450 Desiro
- Built
- 2005–2006
- In service
- since 2006
- Operators
- TransPennine Express
- Formation
- 3 cars, or 6 coupled
- Trains in fleet
- 51
- Fleets
- TransPennine Express: 51
- Top speed
- 100 mph (161 km/h)
- Power
- Diesel-hydraulic: a Cummins QSK19-R engine (561 kW) with Voith T312 transmission under each car · how it works
- Bogies
- Siemens SF 5000 bogies · drawn with the same bogie component as Class 350 Desiro, Class 360 Desiro, Class 380 Desiro, Class 444 Desiro, Class 450 Desiro
- Coupled
- 2 × 3 cars, about 468 ft (143 m) (the units’ lengths added)
- Car height
- 12 ft 2 in (3.71 m)
- Car width
- 8 ft 9 in (2.674 m)
- Profile
- main-line
- Air-conditioned
- Yes
- Seats per train
- 169
- Total capacity
- 154 standard and 15 first class (in the DMOCLW), plus 12 tip-up seats
- Status
- In service with TransPennine Express (publicly owned since 28 May 2023): all 51, owned by Beacon Rail, which bought Eversholt Rail's UK fleets (reported January 2026), and maintained by Siemens in Manchester. Part of the fleet is to be replaced by Alstom battery-electric trains by winter 2034.
Car types
| Code | Car | Length | Doors per side |
|---|---|---|---|
| DMOSB | Driving motor open standard with bicycle space (DMOSB) | 78 ft 0 in23.763 m | 2 double |
| MOSL | Motor open standard with lavatory (MOSL) | 77 ft 11 in23.75 m | 2 double |
| DMOCLW | Driving motor open composite with lavatory and wheelchair space (DMOCLW) | 78 ft 0 in23.763 m | 2 double |
Sources
How we source figures → · Spotted a mistake? Tell us → (opens in a new tab)
Show the 26 sources from Wikimedia Commons, Siemens Transportation Systems, TransPennine Express and 9 more
- Trains: Reference List (issue September 2006) Siemens Transportation Systems, September 2006, p. 4151 three-car units ordered by HSBC Rail for FirstGroup and Keolis; built at Krefeld-Uerdingen; in service since March 2006; 160 km/h (99 mph); 169 seats; 3 x 560 kW
- TransPennine Express DMU starts commissioning trials Railway Gazette International, 1 September 2005car names and seating; car lengths 78 ft 0 in and 77 ft 11 in (23,763 and 23,750 mm); set 234 ft (71,276 mm); height 12 ft 2 in (3,710 mm); width 8 ft 9 in (2,674 mm); floor 4 ft 1 in (1,247 mm); Cummins QSK19-R 561 kW, Voith T312; aluminium bodies; 'two pairs of sliding plug doors'
- Technical Information: Desiro UK DMU Class 185 Siemens Transportation Systems, about 2005 (archived 31 October 2007)technical data: car and unit length, seats, 160 km/h (99 mph), 560 kW per car, roof height 12 ft 2 in (3,710 mm), floor 4 ft 1 in (1,247 mm), 12 tip-up seats; car layout plans; under-floor plan
- Class 185 Eversholt Rail, archived 12 February 202651 three-car units leased to TransPennine Trains; entry into service 2006; 100 mph (161 km/h); seats; car lengths; refurbishment
- Our 185 trains TransPennine Express, accessed 7 October 2026routes; 169 seats (154 standard, 15 first); maintained by Siemens in Manchester
- 1300 more seats a day and trains across the Pennines every 15 minutes: TransPennine Express introduces new December timetable TransPennine Express, 14 November 2024most Liverpool to Cleethorpes trains run as six cars from December 2024
- TPE unveils £1bn battery train fleet to transform rail travel across the north TransPennine Express, 11 September 2026new battery-electric trains to replace part of the Class 185 fleet
- Table 6314: rolling stock vehicles by traction type and operator Office of Rail and Road, 20 November 2025TPE's 153 diesel vehicles, March 2025
- Technical Information: Desiro UK DMU Class 185 Siemens Transportation Systems, about 2005 (archived 31 October 2007), pp. 2-3 (car layouts, under-floor layout)the drawing: doors, windows, body ends, the MOSL's bogies and under-floor equipment (measured off the plans)
- First Class Bogies (bogie catalogue, edition 08/08) Siemens Transportation Systems, Graz, August 2008, pp. 60-61SF 5000 UK bogie (Desiro UK TPE among its references): wheelbase 8 ft 6 in (2,600 mm), wheels 2 ft 9 in (850 mm) new (the drawing's scale)
- SWR 450044 bogie detail (63644) (photograph, 29 October 2022, CC BY-SA 4.0) Wikimedia Commons (Geof Sheppard), 29 October 2022the bogie drawing's layout (a Class 450's SF 5000 UK bogie; layout only)
- Cleethorpes - TPE 185151 Liverpool service (photograph, 4 September 2026, CC BY-SA 4.0) Wikimedia Commons (Geof Sheppard), 4 September 2026the drawing: heights, cab door, cab side window, the livery's shapes and colours
- Old bridge near LS11 0EA with 185122 (photograph, 12 September 2018, CC BY-SA 4.0) Wikimedia Commons (Ian Kirk), 12 September 2018the drawing: window band heights (cross-check), the wedge behind the first door
- Class 185 at Sheffield station (photograph, 11 January 2020, CC BY-SA 4.0) Wikimedia Commons (Hammersfan), 11 January 2020the drawing: the DMOCLW's layout, the front, underframe and bogie (layout only)
- 185103 at Selby 311023 (photograph, 31 October 2023, CC BY-SA 2.0) Wikimedia Commons (Foulger Rail Photos, from Flickr), 31 October 2023the drawing: the middle car's flash, the lower front (layout only)
- TransPennine Express Class 185 at Garforth station 03, August 2020 (photograph, 3 August 2020, CC BY 3.0) Wikimedia Commons (Rcsprinter123), 3 August 2020the drawing: the middle car's flash, other side; underframe (layout only)
- Sliding Doors and Disaffected Youth.jpg (photograph, CC BY 4.0) Wikimedia Commons (kitmasterbloke), 1 December 2025the cab coupler and the join between units (side on, 2025)
- Thirsk railway station MMB 15 185103.jpg (photograph, CC BY-SA 3.0) Wikimedia Commons (mattbuck), 8 July 2011the joins between cars (close and oblique, 2011; layout only)
- FTP 185 Selby, April 2007.JPG (photograph, CC BY-SA 4.0) Wikimedia Commons (Dan Sellers), 30 April 2007the joins between cars (three-quarter, 2007; layout only)
- Technical Information: Desiro UK DMU Class 185 Siemens Transportation Systems, about 2005 (archived 31 October 2007), p. 2 (car layouts)two double-leaf doorways a side on every car, and the 15 premium (first) class seats in the DMOCLW
- Beacon Rail takes on more than 2,700 vehicles as it acquires rival ROSCO Eversholt RAIL, 30 January 2026Beacon Rail has bought Eversholt UK's rail fleets, TransPennine Express's 185101-151 among them (30 January 2026)
- Transpennine Express to be brought into operator of last resort Department for Transport, DfT OLR Holdings Limited and Mark Harper, 11 May 2023TransPennine Express to the DfT's operator of last resort from 28 May 2023
- A modern makeover for our Class 185s Eversholt Rail, 31 July 2017the £32 million refurbishment of all 51 by Siemens at York: the first unit back on 31 July 2017, the programme to finish in 2018
- TransPennine Express celebrates 20 years of Class 185 fleet at milestone event with Siemens Mobility Rail Technology Magazine, 18 March 2026in service since 14 March 2006; 20 years marked at Ardwick on 16 March 2026
- British Rail Class 185 Wikipedia, read 13 October 2026the livery, its unit and its dates
- Class 185 repaints.138201 Rail Forums (forum posts), read 13 October 2026the livery, its unit and its dates
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unverified
- Width: 8 ft 9 in (2,674 mm; Railway Gazette 2005); Wikipedia gives 8 ft 9 in (2.673 m)
- Car length: 78 ft 0 in (23,763 mm) for the end cars and 77 ft 11 in (23,750 mm) for the centre car (Railway Gazette, Siemens); Eversholt rounds to 77 ft 9 in (23.7 m) and 77 ft 11 in (23.75 m)
- Car names: Siemens and Railway Gazette call them DMOSB, MOSL (MSOL) and DMOCLW (Siemens' key spells out 'Combined'); Eversholt's DMCL-MSL-DMS
- Unladen weight: 168.5 t (Railway Gazette, Siemens data sheet) or 163 t (Siemens reference list 2006); not used
- Built: 2005-2006 (Siemens reference list); deliveries were due to finish by the end of 2006
- The drawing is indicative: no side elevation of a 185 has been found. Along the cars it is measured off Siemens' plans; its heights, cab profile, the driving cars' bogie positions and underframes, and the livery are estimated from photographs
- Body lengths: 75 ft 4 in (22,950 mm; driving cars) and 75 ft 5 in (22,995 mm; MOSL), measured off Siemens' plans at the scale of the printed wheelbase; the 1 ft 3 in (377 mm) and 1 ft 5 in (436 mm) coupler allowances follow from Siemens' car lengths and aren't printed
- The other liveries: no 185 has been found in First's purple 'dynamic lines' livery in photographs after 2019; only TransPennine Express's is drawn
- The roof's height: Siemens' 'roof height max 3,710 mm' may be the top of the roof units rather than the plain roof's crown, where the drawing puts it; the units are drawn above it until a drawing or an elevated photograph settles it
- 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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