RHDAB amends Class 313 designation

THE Railway Heritage Designation Advisory Board (RHDAB), the body which recommends vehicles, artefacts and records for designation and preservation, has taken the decision to replace No. 313201, which is due for withdrawal later this year, with Network Rail test unit No. 313121.

The pioneer ‘313’ was originally designated as it was the first production ‘PEP’ unit to be constructed, although, having undergone a refurbishment when it was transferred from London Overground to Southern, it lost a lot of its original features in 2010. Explaining the decision by the RHDAB to instead designate the Network

Rail set, a National Railway Museum spokesperson said: “The board became aware of a unit (313121) which retained its original 1970s seating and other internal features and is equipped with both overhead power and third rail current collection equipment. Consequently, the decision was made to change the designated unit as it best represented the original condition of the Class 313.”

No. 313121 has been part of the Network Rail fleet since 2013, and is used for European Train Control System (ETCS) testing. The pioneer set,

No. 313201, was painted into original blue/grey colours (albeit with grey doors to conform with current requirements) in 2017, and is due to be retired by Govia Thameslink Railway later this year. Its future is now much less secure, with scrap the most likely outcome.

Although both the National Railway Museum (NRM) and Railway Heritage Designation Advisory Board (RHDAB) both come under the umbrella of the Science Museum Group, it should be noted that they are separate bodies, and designation by the RHDAB of an item of rolling stock does not mean it will join the NRM collection. Priority is given to such items passing to an accredited museum, one such example in recent years being Class 483 EMU No. 483007 which passed to the Isle of Wight Steam Railway.