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British Rail Class 456
The British Rail Class 456 was an electric multiple unit passenger train introduced by Network SouthEast on inner-suburban services in South London to replace the elderly British Rail Class 416, Class 416 2EPB units. Twenty-four two-car units were built by British Rail Engineering Limited's York Carriage Works in 1990 and 1991. Following the privatisation of British Rail, the fleet was sold to Porterbrook and operated by Southern up until late 2013, when they were transferred to South West Trains and heavily refurbished. Routes that were operated by Class 456 units will be operated by new British Rail Class 701, Class 701 Aventra, Bombardier Aventra units in the future. Entry into service While originally approved for use by Network SouthEast (NSE) on services out of Waterloo, the 24 two-car units were first accepted into traffic as direct replacements for the British Rail unit designations, 2EPB units on the Central Division of the Southern Region of British Railways, Sout ...
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South West Trains
Stagecoach South Western Trains Limited, trading as South West Trains (SWT), was an English train operating company owned by Stagecoach, which operated the South Western franchise between February 1996 and August 2017. SWT operated the majority of commuter services from its Central London terminus at London Waterloo to South West London and was the key operator for outer suburban and regional services in the counties of Surrey, Hampshire and Dorset. It also provided regional services in Devon, Somerset, Berkshire, Wiltshire and on the Isle of Wight through its Island Line subsidiary. Unlike the majority of franchises, SWT operated without subsidies, being a profitable concern due to the high number of commuters that regularly used its services. The area of operation was the former South Western division of Network SouthEast, and was also roughly that of the pre-1923 London & South Western Railway (excluding everything west of Exeter). As part of the privatisation of Britis ...
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Direct Current
Direct current (DC) is one-directional electric current, flow of electric charge. An electrochemical cell is a prime example of DC power. Direct current may flow through a conductor (material), conductor such as a wire, but can also flow through semiconductors, electrical insulation, insulators, or even through a vacuum as in electron beam, electron or ion beams. The electric current flows in a constant direction, distinguishing it from alternating current (AC). A archaism, term formerly used for this type of current was galvanic current. The abbreviations ''AC'' and ''DC'' are often used to mean simply ''alternating'' and ''direct'', as when they modify ''Electric current, current'' or ''voltage''. Direct current may be converted from an alternating current supply by use of a rectifier, which contains Electronics, electronic elements (usually) or electromechanical elements (historically) that allow current to flow only in one direction. Direct current may be converted into alt ...
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Aventra
The Alstom Aventra (sold as the Bombardier Aventra until 2021) is a family of electric multiple unit (EMU) passenger trains produced at Derby Litchurch Lane Works in the United Kingdom, originally by Bombardier Transportation and later by Alstom, as a successor to the Bombardier Electrostar. A large proportion of its design is based on the Electrostar, adding new technologies and achieving compliance with more stringent requirements and operator demands. Bombardier began developing the Aventra in 2009 based on feedback from train operating companies (TOCs) and upcoming regulation changes. It has been designed to provide a generic platform for conducting inter-regional, commuter, metro, and high-speed passenger services. It has been claimed to be more efficient and flexible than the Electrostar, which was mainly achieved via the greater use of digital technology. The development of a bi-mode version of the Aventra, incorporating batteries, was proposed as a replacement for existi ...
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British Rail Class 701
The British Rail Class 701 ''Arterio'' is a class of electric multiple unit passenger train built by Bombardier Transportation (now Alstom) at Derby Litchurch Lane Works. Built on the Aventra platform, they are operated by South Western Railway, and operate some services between Waterloo and Windsor. In the future the trains are planned to operate services on the Reading, Windsor and South West London suburban lines. Ordered in 2017, the trains were originally due to enter service from mid-2019, but were subject to several delays which prevented this. By December 2023, 50 units had been accepted by SWR. SWR began their phased entry into service from January 2024. They will eventually allow the withdrawal of SWR's fleets of units and the cascade of the fleet to longer-distance services. History Background In March 2017, SWR was awarded the South Western franchise with a commitment to introduce 750 new carriages. In June 2017, SWR awarded a contract to Bombardier Transpor ...
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Privatisation Of British Rail
The privatisation of British Rail was the process by which ownership and operation of the Rail transport in Great Britain, railways of Great Britain passed from government control into private hands. Begun in 1994, the process was largely completed by 1997. The deregulation of the industry was in part motivated by the enactment of EU Directive 91/440 in 1991, which aimed to create a more efficient railway network by creating greater competition. British Railways (BR) had been in state ownership since 1948, under the control of the British Railways Board (BRB). Under the Conservative Party (UK), Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher elected in 1979, various state-owned businesses were gradually sold off, including various auxiliary and supporting functions related to the railways – Sealink ferries and British Transport Hotels by 1984, Travellers Fare catering by 1988 and British Rail Engineering Limited (train manufacturing) by 1989. It was under Thatcher's successor Jo ...
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British Rail Class 416
British Rail Class 416 (Southern Railway multiple unit numbering and classification#DC third rail EMUs, 2-EPB) are a class of Third rail, third-rail electric multiple units (EMUs) in service between 1953 and 1995. They were intended for inner suburban passenger services on London's Southern Electric network. There were two subclasses of Class 416: Class 416/1 to an Southern Railway (UK), SR design on salvaged SR Class 2NOL, 2-NOL underframes, built between 1953 and 1956, and Class 416/2 based on a British Railways Mark 1 coach design. In the 1980s some 2 EPB units were used on the North London Line between Richmond station (London), Richmond and North Woolwich railway station, North Woolwich; these units were equipped with window bars. Tyneside units Fifteen units built in 1954/5 to the BR Mark I coach design were built for the third rail electrified Tyneside Electric lines. They were built at Eastleigh Works, and were the last Tyneside third rail EMUs built. They followed the ...
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Electric Multiple Unit
An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple-unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number of the carriages. An EMU is usually formed of two or more semi-permanently coupled carriages. However, electrically powered single-unit railcars are also generally classed as EMUs. The vast majority of EMUs are passenger trains but versions also exist for carrying mail. EMUs are popular on intercity, commuter, and suburban rail networks around the world due to their fast acceleration and pollution-free operation, and are used on most rapid-transit systems. Being quieter than diesel multiple units (DMUs) and locomotive-hauled trains, EMUs can operate later at night and more frequently without disturbing nearby residents. In addition, tunnel design for EMU trains is simpler as no provision is needed for exhausting fumes, although retrofitting ...
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Tightlock Coupling
Type H Tightlock couplers are a variety of Janney coupler, typically used on North American mainline passenger rail cars. They have mechanical features that reduce slack in normal operation and prevent telescoping in derailments, yet remain compatible with other Janney types used by North American freight railroads. Like all Janney couplers, the Tightlock is "semi-automatic". The couplers automatically lock when cars are pushed together, but workers must go between cars to hook up the air lines for the pneumatic brakes and connect cables for head-end power and other communications. To separate cars, a worker must use a lever to move the locking pin that keeps the coupler closed. In Europe, some operators experimented with making fully automatic tightlock couplers by adding integral pneumatic and electric connectors, but these connections proved unreliable, and most have switched to the more common fully automatic Scharfenberg coupler. Janney Type H Tightlock coupler stand ...
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Train Protection & Warning System
The Train Protection & Warning System (TPWS) is a train protection system used throughout the British passenger main-line railway network, and in Victoria, Australia. According to the UK Rail Safety and Standards Board, the purpose of TPWS is to stop a train by automatically initiating a brake demand, where TPWS track equipment is fitted, if the train has: passed a signal at danger without authority; approached a signal at danger too fast; approached a reduction in permissible speed too fast; approached buffer stops too fast. TPWS is not designed to prevent signals passed at danger (SPADs) but to mitigate the consequences of a SPAD, by preventing a train that has had a SPAD from reaching a conflict point after the signal. A standard installation consists of an on-track transmitter adjacent to a signal, activated when the signal is at danger. A train that passes the signal will have its emergency brake activated. If the train is travelling at speed, this may be too late to stop ...
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Automatic Warning System
Automatic Warning System (AWS) is a railway safety system invented and predominantly used in the United Kingdom. It provides a train driver with an audible indication of whether the next Railway_signal, signal they are approaching is clear or at caution. Depending on the upcoming signal state, the AWS will either produce a 'horn' sound (as a warning indication), or a 'bell' sound (as a clear indication). If the train driver fails to acknowledge a warning indication, an emergency brake application is initiated by the AWS; if the driver correctly acknowledges the warning indication, by pressing an acknowledgement button, then a visual 'sunflower' is displayed to the driver, as a reminder of the warning. Principles of operation AWS is a system based on trains detecting magnetic fields. These magnetic fields are created by permanent magnets and electromagnets installed on the track. The polarity and sequence of magnetic fields detected by a train determine the type of indication ...
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Westcode
IXYS Corporation is an American company based in Milpitas, California. IXYS focuses on power semiconductors, radio-frequency (RF) power semiconductors, and digital and analog integrated circuits (ICs). History Dr. Nathan Zommer founded IXYS Corporation in 1983 in Silicon Valley, Santa Clara, California. IXYS was originally a fabless power semiconductor device company. In 1989, IXYS provided power MOSFETs for the General Motors EV1. IXYS provided high-power IGBTs for the KTX-II high-speed train. In 2001, the company acquired the British semiconductor manufacturer Westcode. In December 2009, IXYS Corporation announced that it will buy Zilog, which is now the company's wholly owned subsidiary. In July 2013, IXYS Corporation finished acquiring Samsung Electronics' 4- and 8-bit microcontroller business, and the 4- and 8-bit microcontrollers acquired from Samsung will be offered by Zilog, Inc. In August 2017, IXYS Corporation was acquired by Littelfuse Inc Littelfuse, Inc. is ...
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