British Rail Class 508

British Rail Class 508
Merseyrail Class 508 at Hightown
The interior of a Merseyrail-refurbished Class 508 unit
Stock type	Electric multiple unit
In service	17 December 1979–16 January 2024
Manufacturer	British Rail Engineering Limited
Order nos.	30979 (DMSO vehicles) 30980 (TSO vehicles) 30981 (BDMSO vehicles)
Built at	Holgate Road Works, York
Family name	BREL 1972
Replaced	Class 503
Constructed	1979–1980
Refurbished	2002–2004 at Alstom, Eastleigh Works (27 Merseyrail units only) 2007–2008 at Wabtec Doncaster (6 Southeastern units only)
Number built	43
Number preserved	0 (driving trailer 508 one unit only)
Number scrapped	41
Successor	Class 378 (London Overground) Class 466 (Southeastern) Class 777 (Merseyrail)
Formation	As built, 4 cars per unit: DMSO-TSO-TSO-BDMSO After 3-car conversion: DMSO-TSO-BDMSO
Diagram	DMSO vehicles: EA208 TSO vehicles: EH218 BDMSO vehicles: EI203
Design code	4PER
Fleet numbers	508/0: 508001–508043 508/1: 508101–508143 508/2: 508201–508212
Capacity	As built: 320 seats As three-car: 234 seats Three-car modified: 222 seats 508/2 units: 219 seats As refurbished: 192 seats
Owner	Angel Trains
Operators	British Rail Connex South Eastern London Overground South Eastern Trains Merseyrail Southeastern Silverlink
Depots	Birkenhead North (Wirral) Gillingham (Kent) Hall Road (Blundellsands) Kirkdale (Liverpool)
Lines served	Wirral line Northern line
Specifications
Car body construction	Steel underframe and body frame, aluminium body and roof
Car length	DM vehs.: 19.800 m (64 ft 11.5 in) Trailers: 19.920 m (65 ft 4.3 in)
Width	2,820 mm (9 ft 3 in)
Height	3,582 mm (11 ft 9.0 in)
Floor height	1,146 mm (3 ft 9.1 in)
Doors	Double-leaf pocket sliding, each 1,288 mm (4 ft 2.7 in) wide (2 per side per car)
Wheelbase	Over bogie centres: 14.170 m (46 ft 5.9 in)
Maximum speed	75 mph (120 km/h)
Weight	DMSO vehicles: 36.15 t (35.58 LT; 39.85 ST) TSO vehicles: 26.72 t (26.30 LT; 29.45 ST) BDMSO vehicles: 36.61 t (36.03 LT; 40.36 ST)
Traction motors	8 × GEC G310AZ or 8 × Brush TM61-53 (82 kW (110 hp) each, 4 per motor car)
Power output	656 kW (880 hp)
HVAC	Electric heating (ducted warm air)
Electric systems	750–850 V DC third rail
Current collection	Contact shoe
UIC classification	Bo′Bo′+2′2′+Bo′Bo′
Bogies	BREL BX1
Minimum turning radius	70.4 m (231 ft 0 in)
Braking systems	Electro-pneumatic (disc) and rheostatic
Safety systems	AWS TPWS
Coupling system	Tightlock
Multiple working	508/3: within subclass, and with Class 313 Others: within class, and with Class 507
Seating	Transverse
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Notes/references
Specifications as at August 1982 except where otherwise noted. The additional TSO vehicles, removed as part of three-car conversion, were inserted into Class 455/7 units.

The British Rail Class 508 (4PER) electric multiple unit (EMU) passenger trains were built by British Rail Engineering Limited, at Holgate Road carriage works, York, in 1979 and 1980. They were a variant of British Rail's standard 1972 design for suburban EMUs, eventually encompassing 755 vehicles and five classes (313/314/315/507/508). They mostly worked on the Merseyrail network from 1982 until withdrawal on 16 January 2024.