British Rail Class 156

Class 156 *Super Sprinter*
Class 156 Super Sprinter
	A Northern Trains unit at Altrincham, 2026
	Interior of a refurbished Northern Trains unit
In service	16 May 1988–present
Manufacturer	Metro-Cammell
Order nos.	31028 (DMSL vehicles);; 31029 (DMS vehicles);
Built at	Washwood Heath, Birmingham
Family name	Sprinter
Replaced	Locomotive-hauled trains;; First-generation DMUs;
Constructed	1987–1989
Number built	114
Number in service	109
Formation	Two cars per unit:; DMSL-DMS;
Diagram	DMSL vehicles: DP244;; DMS vehicles: DP245;
Fleet numbers	156401–156514
Capacity	As built: 163 seats;; As refurbished: 146–152 seats;
Owners	Angel Trains;; Brodies Leasing;
Operators	Current; Northern Trains; ScotRail; Former; Abellio ScotRail; Arriva Rail North; Arriva Trains Northern; Central Trains; East Midlands Trains; East Midlands Railway; First North Western; First ScotRail; Abellio Greater Anglia; Northern Rail; Regional Railways; ScotRail (National Express);
Depots	Corkerhill (Glasgow); Etches Park (Derby); Heaton (Newcastle); Neville Hill (Leeds); Newton Heath (Manchester); Tyseley (Birmingham);
Specifications
Car body construction	Steel
Car length	22.385 m (73 ft 5.3 in)
Width	2.730 m (8 ft 11.5 in)
Height	3.805 m (12 ft 5.8 in)
Floor height	1.135 m (3 ft 8.7 in)
Doors	Single-leaf pocket sliding (two per side per car)
Wheelbase	Bogies:; 2.600 m (8 ft 6.4 in);; Over bogie centres:; 16.000 m (52 ft 5.9 in);
Maximum speed	75 mph (120 km/h)
Weight	As built:; DMSL vehicles: 38.6 t (38.0 LT; 42.5 ST);; DMS vehicles: 37.9 t (37.3 LT; 41.8 ST);
Prime mover	2 × Cummins NT855-R5 (one per vehicle)
Engine type	Inline-6 4-stroke turbo-diesel
Displacement	14 L (855 cu in) per engine
Power output	430 kW (570 hp) total
Transmission	2 × Voith T 211 r (hydrokinetic, one per vehicle)
HVAC	Warm air
UIC classification	2′B′+B′2′
Bogies	Powered: BREL P3-10;; Unpowered: BREL BT38;
Minimum turning radius	90.5 m (297 ft)
Braking systems	Electro-pneumatic (tread); ('Westcode' three-step)
Safety systems	AWS; TPWS;
Coupling system	BSI
Multiple working	Within class, and with Classes 14x, 15x and 170
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Notes/references
	Specifications as at March 1987, except where otherwise noted.

The British Rail Class 156 Super Sprinter is a type of diesel-hydraulic multiple unit passenger train. A total of 114 sets were built between 1987 and 1989 for British Rail by Metro-Cammell's Washwood Heath works. They were built to replace elderly first-generation diesel multiple units (DMUs) and locomotive-hauled passenger trains.