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Class 357 Electrostar
The first of Bombardier's Electrostars, built at Derby for the London, Tilbury and Southend line, where c2c still runs all 74. Unlike the Southern and Southeastern Electrostars, it has a full-width cab with no gangway.
Scale
Class 357 Electrostar · indicative drawing GB Trains · gbtrains.uk/stock/357/ · CC BY 4.0
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Liveries 3
c2cc2c white and magentafrom 2024Shown abovec2c white with dark blue doorson the units not yet through Alstom's repaint (21 at July 2026), which go to GBR liveryBeing replaced: Great British Railways livery, as each unit is repaintedBeing replacedfrom 2017Not drawn yet
Great British Railways357008 and 357020 from 16 July 2026; the 21 units still to go through Alstom's programme are to follow (Alstom, 20 July 2026)The national livery. One entry for every operator that wears it: the region's name is lettering, and the double arrow and lettering stay off the site's drawings.Not drawn yet
Special liveries 3
- Railway Guardian (BTP app), 357016 March 2023.
- Pride, 357318 Southend Pride 2022.
- Gold Geese charity, 357008 1 Sep 2022; now replaced by GBR Anglia.
Former liveries 3
LTS Rail greenFormer1999 to 2001-02Not drawn yet
c2c metallic blueRan as c2c (National Express)Former2002 to 2011-03-05Not drawn yet
c2c white with dark blue doors, National Express logosRan as c2c (National Express)Former2009-07-30 to 2017Not drawn yet
- Type
- Electric multiple unit
- Builder
- Adtranz, later Bombardier Transportation (now Alstom), Derby Litchurch Lane
- Family
- Electrostar, with Class 375 Electrostar, Class 376 Electrostar, Class 377 Electrostar, Class 379 Electrostar, Class 387 Electrostar
- Built
- 1999–2002
- In service
- since 2000
- Operators
- c2c
- Formation
- 4 cars (DMSO(A)-MSO-PTSOL-DMSO(B))
- Trains in fleet
- 74
- Fleets
- c2c: 74
- Top speed
- 100 mph (161 km/h)
- Power
- 25 kV AC overhead: six 250 kW three-phase traction motors, two each on the driving cars and the MSO · how it works
- Bogies
- Bombardier Electrostar bogies · drawn with the same bogie component as Class 375 Electrostar, Class 376 Electrostar, Class 377 Electrostar, Class 378 Capitalstar, Class 379 Electrostar, Class 387 Electrostar
- Car width
- 9 ft 2 in (2.80 m)
- Train weight (tare)
- 157.6 t (a four-car Class 357/0; Porterbrook, 2013)
- Couplers
- Tightlock at the cab ends (its head can be exchanged for one compatible with the Dellner); bar couplers between the cars within the unit
- Profile
- main-line
- Air-conditioned
- Yes
- Seats per train
- 282
- Standing (5 per m²)
- 315
- Total capacity
- 357/0 and 357/2: 597 (282 seats, 4 of them tip-up, + 315 standing at 5 per m², calculated from Porterbrook's floor areas, 63.09 m²). The 17 Class 357/3s, altered from 2015 with seats taken out for '152 additional standing passengers on each service' (RAIL, 2015), have fewer seats (222, Wikipedia)
- Status
- In service with c2c (in public ownership since 20 July 2025, now part of GBR Anglia): 74 four-car units, leased from Porterbrook and Angel Trains until 2029, alongside twelve Class 720/6 Aventras since 2023. Alstom's paint and repair programme at Ilford, begun in 2024, had finished 53 units by July 2026; the 52nd and 53rd, 357008 and 357020, were the first in Great British Railways livery (16 July 2026), and the remaining 21 are to be painted in it.
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 | Doors per side |
|---|---|---|---|
| DMSO | Driving motor standard open (DMSO) | 66 ft 11 in20.40 m | 2 double |
| MSO | Motor standard open (MSO) | 65 ft 7 in19.99 m | 2 double |
| PTSOL | Pantograph trailer standard open with toilet (PTSOL) | 65 ft 7 in19.99 m | 2 double |
Car lengths over couplers (Porterbrook and Angel Trains): 66 ft 11 in (20.40 m) for the driving cars, 65 ft 7 in (19.99 m) for the others. Over the body ends (Bombardier): 65 ft 5 in (19.945 m) and 64 ft 7 in (19.69 m).
Sources
How we source figures → · Spotted a mistake? Tell us → (opens in a new tab)
Show the 36 sources from Wikimedia Commons, Wikipedia, Porterbrook Leasing and 13 more
- Class 357 Electric Multiple Unit (Issue 01 Revision A) Porterbrook Leasing, September 2013, pp. PDF pp. 5, 9, 12-19first of the Electrostars; 46 Class 357/0 units, formation, car lengths 66 ft 11 in (20.4 m) and 65 ft 7 in (19.99 m), width 9 ft 2 in (2.8 m), height 11 ft 9 in (3.58 m), 100 mph (161 km/h), three IGBT modules each driving two 250 kW motors on 3 of the 4 cars, double-leaf swing-plug doors at 1/3 and 2/3, seats per car (71, 78, 58 + 4 tip-up, 71), floor areas, toilet in the PTSOL, full-width non-gangway cab, Tightlock couplers, build dates from 31 March 2000; layout diagram of each car; a four-car unit weighs 157.6 tonnes (printed p. 9); couplers Tightlock outer and bar intermediate (printed p. 15), the Tightlock's head exchangeable for compatibility with the Dellner (printed p. 13)
- Class 357 Angel Trains28 four-car units, formation DMSO(A)-MSO-PTSO-DMSO(B), car lengths, width 9 ft 2 in (2.80 m), 100 mph (161 km/h), Adtranz/Bombardier Electrostar, operated by c2c
- ELECTROSTAR - United Kingdom (project page: overview, technical data by operator, technical drawing) Bombardier Transportation (archived copy), archived 24 April 2016c2c's Electrostars: 282 seats (4-car), 9 ft 2 in (2,800 mm) wide, 160 km/h (99 mph), body lengths 65 ft 5 in and 64 ft 7 in (19,945 and 19,690 mm)
- Alstom-built trains for Anglia unveiled in new Great British Railways identity Alstom, 20 July 202674 four-car units, built at Derby Litchurch Lane 1999-2002, leased from Angel Trains and Porterbrook until 2029, maintained at East Ham, run alongside the Class 720 Aventras (in service from 2023); 357008 and 357020 the 52nd and 53rd through Alstom's paint and repair programme at Ilford, the first in GBR livery; the remaining 21 to be painted in it
- c2c to increase peak time capacity RAIL, 27 July 201517 Class 357s altered in 2015: seats taken out and grab handles fitted for '152 additional standing passengers on each service'
- Table 6314: rolling stock vehicles by traction type and operator Office of Rail and Road, 20 November 2025c2c's 356 electric vehicles at 31 March 2025 (74 four-car 357s and 12 five-car 720s)
- Annual Report and Accounts 2000 National Express Group PLC, 2001c2c's new trains in service in 2000
- British Rail Class 357 Wikipedia, accessed 6 October 2026first service 31 March 2000; the 357/3s' renumbering; 357/3 seats; height (cross-check)
- 357 024 at Fenchurch Street Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0), 2026-06-14c2c's livery on a Class 357
- Adtranz P3-25 bogie (6647161053) (photograph of a Class 375/7's bogie at London Bridge, CC BY-SA 2.0) Wikimedia Commons (Hugh Llewelyn, via Flickr), June 2010the bogie drawing's layout (an Electrostar P3-25 bogie, photograph: layout only)
- Bogie and traction equipment beneath Door A1 of Class 375 Electrostar unit 375831 at Gillingham railway station (Kent) (photograph, CC0) Wikimedia Commons (OathOn), 25 June 2025the bogie drawing's layout (an Electrostar P3-25 bogie, photograph: layout only)
- British Rail Class 378 bogie and shoegear (photograph at Hackney Wick, CC BY-SA 3.0) Wikimedia Commons (Chris McKenna), 14 March 2014the bogie drawing's layout (an Electrostar P3-25 bogie, photograph: layout only)
- C2c Class 357 w-pantograph.png (WestRail642fan, CC BY-SA 4.0) Wikimedia Commons, 29 March 2019the drawing's pantograph: car and end (layout only)
- West Ham station MMB 26 357017.jpg (mattbuck, CC BY-SA 4.0) Wikimedia Commons, 29 November 2014the pantograph rises from a well at a car's gangway end (layout only)
- 357 029 Shadwell.jpg (photograph, CC BY 4.0; uploaded June 2026) Wikimedia Commonsthe pale grey roof (colour only)
- Class 357 Electrostar EMU - c2c 357205.jpg (photograph, 20 June 2025, CC BY-SA 4.0) Wikimedia Commons, 20 June 2025the pale grey roof (colour only)
- 377 side on (Southern Class 377 driving car) Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0), 29 February 2016the yellow at the cab front, side on (job yellow, 13 October 2026)
- Class 375 exterior livery sheets EVL-C1-2018859 G (DMOS), 2018861 F (MOSL), 2019035 A (MOSL 375/9), 2018860 E (PTOSL) Eversholt Rail (released by Southeastern under FOI: 'Livery Designs'), 2021the Class 375's side elevation the drawing borrows: body, doors, windows and heights (the 375's sheets, measured)
- Class 357 Repaint & Repair (voluntary ex ante transparency notice 2024/S 000-016172) Trenitalia c2c Limited, on Find a Tender (GOV.UK), 22 May 2024the fleet of 74: 46 Class 357/0 leased from Porterbrook, 11 Class 357/2 and 17 Class 357/3 leased from Angel Trains
- First Great British Railways trains for Anglia unveiled as integrated railway delivers early benefits c2c, 16 July 2026c2c in public ownership since Sunday 20 July 2025, managed by DFTO; 357008 and 357020 in GBR livery on 16 July 2026; further 357s to get it as they pass through the repaint and planned maintenance programme
- UK: Alstom to Refurbish c2c Class 357 Fleet Railway-News, 20 May 2024Alstom's paint and repair contract for the 74 units at Ilford, from 2024 over 24 months: corrosion repairs and a full repaint
- 357 042 Shadwell.jpg (photograph, CC BY 4.0) Wikimedia Commons (kitmasterbloke), 17 June 2026357042 in the white and magenta livery (2026): the door leaves reaching the bodyside foot, square door-window corners, white front corners with no yellow or glass wrapping round, nothing ahead of the cab face but the coupler in its recess, no panel ahead of the cab door (front three-quarter, layout only; set T4, 20 October 2026)
- The Colour Purple.jpg (photograph, CC BY 4.0) Wikimedia Commons (kitmasterbloke), 17 June 2026a 357's double door near square-on: the door windows' square corners in a thin black frame (set T4, 20 October 2026)
- 357225 Upminster.jpg (photograph, CC BY-SA 4.0) Wikimedia Commons (PeterSkuce), 16 August 2014the lower front: the windscreen's foot on the yellow panel with no chamfer, its height from the front face's proportions, the panel's lean from the far-side silhouette (layout only; set TF, 20 October 2026)
- 357206 Upminster.jpg (photograph, CC BY-SA 4.0) Wikimedia Commons (PeterSkuce), 16 August 2014the lower front: the windscreen's foot's height from the front face's proportions, no ledge (layout only; set TF, 20 October 2026)
- 357 029 Shadwell.jpg (photograph, CC BY 4.0; uploaded June 2026) Wikimedia Commonsthe DMSO's saloon windows and door-leaf windows, places and heights, read on a view rectified on its doorways (set T4 round 3, 20 October 2026)
- 357 040 Ripple Lane 151025.jpg (photograph, CC BY 4.0) Wikimedia Commons (kitmasterbloke), 15 October 2025the DMSO's saloon windows and door-leaf windows, places and heights, read on a view rectified on its doorways (set T4 round 3, 20 October 2026)
- 357 042 Shadwell.jpg (photograph, CC BY 4.0) Wikimedia Commons (kitmasterbloke), 17 June 2026the MSO's saloon windows, places and heights (the long view, about 30 mm a pixel), applied to the PTSOL too (set T4 round 3, 20 October 2026)
- 357 040 Ripple Lane 151025.jpg (photograph, CC BY 4.0) Wikimedia Commons (kitmasterbloke), 15 October 2025the magenta band's edges and the cab's magenta panel and cap, read rectified on the DMSO's doorways (from above, about 70 degrees to the side; set T4, 20 October 2026)
- 357 029 Shadwell.jpg (photograph, CC BY 4.0; uploaded June 2026) Wikimedia Commonsthe magenta band's edges, the cab's magenta panel and the cap's end, read rectified on the DMSO's doorways (about 35 degrees off broadside; set T4, 20 October 2026)
- Refurbished Class 357 at Southend Central.jpg (photograph, CC BY-SA 4.0) Wikimedia Commons (Electrostarboi207), 8 March 2026the nose from ahead: the magenta panel beside the windscreen from the orange line to the yellow, its top reaching to just short of the cab door, its rear edge meeting the nose's corner at the yellow (layout only; set T4, 20 October 2026)
- British Rail Class 357 Wikipedia, read 13 October 2026the livery, its unit and its dates
- 357315 Limehouse.jpg (photograph, CC BY 4.0) Wikimedia Commons (kitmasterbloke), 17 June 2026357315 still in the livery, white with dark blue doors and yellow above and below the windscreen, 17 June 2026 (photograph)
- First Great British Railways trains for Anglia unveiled Greater Anglia, 16 July 2026357008, 357020, 720144 and 720501 in the livery at Liverpool Street, 16 July 2026
- First Great British Railways-liveried fleets unveiled for Anglia region RAIL magazine, July 2026357020 the first painted; the 357s and 720s as units pass through maintenance
- A Guide to Overhead Electrification (132787-ALB-GUN-EOH-000001, rev 10) Network Rail (prepared by Alan Baxter), February 2015, p. 39the contact wire in the In operation drawing: 15 ft 5 in (4.7 m) above rail, Network Rail's normal height
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unverified
- First passenger service: Wikipedia gives 31 March 2000, which is 357014's date of manufacture in Porterbrook's table, so it may not be a service date; National Express's report for 2000 confirms the year only
- Car height: Porterbrook's 2013 data sheet prints 11 ft 9 in (3.58 m) and Wikipedia 12 ft 5 in (3.78 m). Neither is confirmed, so none is shown
- The 357/3s' renumbering from 357212-228 to 357312-328 is Wikipedia's
- Standing figure: Porterbrook's floor areas are for the 357/0 as built; the 357/3 layout will differ
- The cab front's outline: indicative. Above the windscreen's foot it is the Class 375's; the lower front, redrawn as the 357's own (set TF), is read off three-quarter photographs, since no level side-on photograph of a 357's cab end exists
- 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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