Rolling stock › In serviceData updated
Class 168 Clubman unverified
Chiltern's Turbostars, branded Clubman, were the first new trains ordered after privatisation and entered service in 1998. The first five have longer driving cars than the later units, and nine two-car units were converted from TransPennine Express Class 170s.
Drawing to come
- Type
- Diesel multiple unit
- Builder
- Adtranz, later Bombardier Transportation
- Built
- 1997–2006
- In service
- since 1998
- Operators
- Chiltern Railways
- Formation
- 2, 3 or 4 cars: four-car 168/0s (DMSL(W)-MSL-MS-DMSL), three- or four-car 168/1s and 168/2s, two-car 168/3s
- Trains in fleet
- 28
- Fleets
- Chiltern Railways: 28
- Top speed
- 100 mph
- Power
- Diesel-hydraulic: an MTU 6R 183 TD13H engine (315 kW) with Voith transmission under each car
- Car height
- 3.77 m
- Car width
- 2.69 m
- Profile
- main-line
- Air-conditioned
- Yes
- Total capacity
- Porterbrook (2013) gives per car: DMSL(W) 57, MSL 73, MS 77 (168/0) or 76, DMSL 68 (168/0) or 69, which adds up to 275 for a four-car 168/0 and 202 for a three-car 168/1 or 168/2. Eversholt gives 199 seats and 5 tip-up for its three three-car units. Figures after the 2024-26 refurbishment haven't been published
- Status
- In service: 28 units, 85 carriages, refurbished from October 2024 at Arriva TrainCare, Crewe. As the Chiltern Explorers take over the Birmingham trains in 2026, the 168s are moving to Chiltern's other routes, which get longer trains.
This page is marked unverified: its figures haven’t yet been confirmed by an official source or a published history. The foot of the page says what’s in doubt.
Car types
| Code | Car | Length | Doors per side |
|---|---|---|---|
| DMSLW | Driving motor standard with lavatory and wheelchair space (DMSL(W)) | 23.62 m | 2 double |
| MSL | Motor standard with lavatory (MSL), in four-car units | 23.61 m | 2 double |
| MS | Motor standard (MS) | 23.61 m | 2 double |
| DMSL | Driving motor standard with lavatory (DMSL) | 23.62 m | 2 double |
| DMSLW0 | DMSL(W) of a 168/0 (168001-005), a longer driving car | 24.10 m | 2 double |
| DMSL0 | DMSL of a 168/0 (168001-005), a longer driving car | 24.10 m | 2 double |
Sources
- Class 168 Diesel Multiple Unit (Issue 01 Revision A), Porterbrook Leasing, September 2013, pp. PDF pp. 5, 9, 13-21 (Clubman branding; vehicles introduced in batches 1997-2006; 23 m cars with bi-parting swing-plug doors at 1/3 and 2/3; car lengths (24.1 m for 168/0 driving cars, 23.62 and 23.61 m for the others), width 2.69 m, height 3.77 m, 100 mph, MTU 6R183TD13H 315 kW per car, Voith transmission, BSI couplers, seats per car, unit list and dates from 26 May 1998; layout diagrams of 168/0, 168/1 and 168/2)
- Class 168, Eversholt Rail, None (three three-car DMSL-MS-DMSL units leased to Chiltern; 199 seats and 5 tip-up; car lengths 23.62 and 23.61 m; 100 mph)
- TURBOSTAR - United Kingdom (project page: overview, technical data, technical drawing), Bombardier Transportation (archived copy), archived 18 February 2016 (Chiltern's Turbostars: 23 m cars, 2,690 mm wide, 160 km/h)
- Chiltern Railways unveils refurbished train and reaffirms commitment to future generations of customers, Chiltern Railways, 9 October 2024 (the first trains ordered by Chiltern as a standalone company in 1996, in service from 1998; £12m refurbishment of 85 carriages from 9 October 2024 at Arriva TrainCare, Crewe)
- New trains: your new Chiltern Explorer trains have arrived, Chiltern Railways, accessed 6 October 2026 (the Explorers free the 168s and 165s for Chiltern's other routes, with longer trains)
- Class 170 & 171 Diesel Multiple Unit (edition 1A), Porterbrook Leasing, September 2013, p. 170/3 data sheets (TPE's two-car 170301-309, built in 2000)
- British Rail Class 168, Wikipedia, accessed 6 October 2026 (today's unit list and formations; 168/3 conversion; 168329's engines)
unverified the fleet of 28 units is Wikipedia's: five four-car 168/0s (168001-005), eight 168/1s (168106-113; 106 and 107 have four cars, the rest three), six 168/2s (168214-219; 215-217 have four cars) and nine two-car 168/3s (168321-329). Porterbrook's 2013 list and Eversholt's three three-car units agree for the 168/0 to 168/2, and the total matches Chiltern's 85 carriages (2024), the 168/3s: converted for Chiltern in 2015-16 from TransPennine Express Class 170/3s (Wikipedia). Porterbrook lists TPE's 170301-309, built in 2000. 168329 has MTU 6H 1800 R76 engines since its HybridFlex trial in 2022 (Wikipedia), 168/3 car length: taken as the Class 170's 23.62 m, not checked for these units, unit formations after the 2024-26 refurbishment have not been checked against a Chiltern source