The Class 323 Collection | A montage of the West Midlands 323s

Welcome back to another video on my UA-cam channel, In this video is a video which I had a idea to do since around 2022.
The West Midlands 323 fleet came out of service on Friday 27th September 2024 after 30 years on Cross city line and another local services around Birmingham New Street. I know I am bit late but I had other commitments which taken priority over putting this video together!
The 26 strong fleet of units was first introduced in February 1994 upon completion of the electrification of Birmingham's Cross City Line between Redditch (Bromsgrove from 2018), Through Birmingham New Street to Lichfield Trent Valley. The units are well known with passengers and railway enthusiasts alike due to their traction motor sounds on acceleration and decertation as seen in this video. The units have seen 4 operators in their time in the West Midlands... Regional Railways, Central Trains, London Midland and West Midlands Railway.
Upon West Midlands Trains taking over the franchise from London Midland back in 2017, One of the franchise commitments was for new rolling stock to be brought in, This involved bringing in brand new rolling stock onto Birmingham's cross city line which help resolve some of the overcrowding issues at the time and bringing in a much better passenger environment for customers travelling on the line. The new stock was originally expected into service in 2020/2021 however delays due to Covid 19 pandemic and production issues delayed the introduction. The brand new trains were finally entered service on cross city line on the 15th April 2024 after many long delays.
In this video, Will see videos which I have captured over the last 4-5 years of the 323 fleet in the West Midlands as a farewell tribute to the units time in Birmingham, Luckily 17 of 26 units have found further use in the North West of the country with Northern trains joining the fleet of 17 already with the operator.
So please, enjoy! :D
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