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The Class 390 ''Pendolino'' is a type of electric high-speed train operated by Virgin Trains in the United Kingdom. They are electric multiple units using Fiat Ferroviaria's tilting train Pendolino technology and built by Alstom. Fifty-three 9-car units were originally built between 2001 and 2004 for operation on the West Coast Main Line (WCML), with an additional four trains and 62 cars built between 2009 and 2012. The trains of the original batch were the last to be assembled at Alstom's Washwood Heath plant, before its closure in 2005. The remaining trains in the fleet were built in Italy. The Class 390 is one of the fastest domestic electric multiple units operating in Britain, with a top speed of 140 mph (225 km/h); however, limitations to track signalling systems restrict the units to a maximum speed of 125 mph (200 km/h) in service. In September 2006, the Pendolino set a new speed record, completing the length of the West Coast Main Line from Glasgow Central to London Euston in 3 hours, 55 minutes, beating the 4-hour-14-minute record for the southbound run previously set in 1981 by its ancestor, British Rail's Advanced Passenger Train. The APT retains the ultimate speed record for this route, having completed the northbound journey between London Euston and Glasgow Central in 3 hours 52 minutes in 1984 which included a 5-minute delay due to a signal fault. In September 2010, Virgin Trains and Alstom launched a co-branded Pendolino (390004) which was renamed "Alstom Pendolino" and carries a Virgin/Alstom livery on coaches A and K in recognition of the partnership between Alstom and Virgin Trains.〔(New look for Virgin Pendolino | Rail-News.com )〕 The fleet is maintained at the Alstom Manchester Train Depot near Piccadilly station. ==Description== In 1997, Virgin Rail Group commenced operating the InterCity West Coast franchise with a commitment to replace the existing British Rail Class 86, 87 and 90 electric locomotives and Mark 2 and Mark 3 coaching stock with tilting trains. Virgin placed an order with Alstom/Fiat Ferroviaria. British Rail had intended to replace the existing fleet of trains on the West Coast Main Line (in conjunction with a planned route modernisation) as part of the InterCity 250 project, but this was cancelled by the government shortly before privatisation. Tilting trains were not new on the West Coast Main Line. Twenty years previously, British Rail had developed the revolutionary, but ultimately unsuccessful, Class 370 Advanced Passenger Train (APT). Fiat Ferroviaria supplied much of the content of the Class 390 units, including the bodyshell and the bogies, while final assembly was carried out at Washwood Heath. The tilting technology was developed by SIG Switzerland (later Fiat-SIG, today Alstom). Two electromechanical actuators are used per car to achieve the desired tilting angle on curved stretches of track. The train can tilt to a maximum of eight degrees, at which point one side of the cabin train is 380 mm higher above the track than the other. In contrast to other Fiat Ferroviaria tilting trains which use hydraulic tilting actuators, the electromechanical systems offers lower maintenance cost and higher efficiency. The new trains were intended to run at 140 mph (225 km/h), but the West Coast Main Line modernisation programme, which was an upgrade to the infrastructure to allow faster line speeds, ran over budget. Consequently, plans were scaled back, and in a manner reminiscent of the introduction of the InterCity 225, the lack of signalling upgrades resulted in the maximum line speed being restricted to 125 mph (200 km/h). Although this (and 140 mph) are well below BR's hopes for APT of , it does match the maximum speed of 125 mph (200 km/h) for the APT in passenger service (although one APT set reached 162 mph (261 km/h) in testing). The original order was for 53 sets, 34 eight-carriage sets and 19 nine-carriage sets. The eight-carriage sets each had an additional carriage added in 2004. To increase capacity, 4 eleven-carriage sets and 62 extra carriages were ordered to increase 31 sets to eleven carriages. These were delivered between 2009 and 2012.〔 Each 11-car set is identified by having 100 added to its unit number (3901xx). The unit formation as of January 2015 is described in the table below, with vehicles listed in the order they are formed in the unit:〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.virgintrains.co.uk/assets/pdf/global/seating-plan.pdf )〕 The units incorporate a number of innovations, including a walk-in shop in place of the traditional buffet/restaurant car, and extensive passenger visual information systems on the inside of the car ends and on the outside of the doors. Following criticisms of the pressure- operated automatic gangway doors of the older Mark 3 and Mark 4 carriages (which could easily be held open by items of luggage resting on the floor sensor, allowing draughts into the passenger saloon) the gangway doors on the 390 sets are of the push-button "open on demand" type. All seats originally had an on-board entertainment system with a number of pre-recorded music channels. This feature was disabled in March 2010 to make way for new on-board WiFi provided by T-Mobile.〔"Please note: Virgin Trains onboard entertainment system no longer functions." ()〕 Each seating row has a dot-matrix LCD display to indicate the reservation status of each seat, removing the need for conventional printed labels inserted manually by train crew. The coaches also incorporate steps which automatically extend to platform level when the doors are opened. This feature was first seen on the APT-P, which as mentioned above is a distant ancestor of the Pendolino. The windows are fitted with roll-down blinds. If there are too many standard class standing passengers coach G (MFO) can be re-classified as a standard class coach to provide extra standard-class seating capacity. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「British Rail Class 390」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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