Chiltern Railways / BR/Bombardier
The Chiltern Railways / BR / Bombardier partnership refers to the design and construction arrangement that produced the Class 168 'Clubman' diesel multiple unit for Chiltern Railways from 1998 — one of the first significant new rolling stock orders placed under the privatised railway structure, demonstrating that a private train operator could commission new vehicles to its own specification rather than accepting off-the-shelf BR designs.
The Class 168 was designed and built at Bombardier's Derby Litchurch Lane works — the former BREL Derby carriage works that had been privatised through ABB Transportation before passing to Bombardier. The design built on the Class 165 Networker Turbo platform developed in the final BR Network SouthEast era, with improvements to interior specification, air conditioning, and passenger comfort that reflected Chiltern's determination to offer a quality product on its Marylebone routes. Later batches as Class 168/1, 168/2, and 168/3 brought further improvements, and the class continues in front-line Chiltern service today.
About
'Chiltern Railways / BR/Bombardier' is used for the joint design and construction arrangement that produced the Class 168 'Clubman' diesel multiple-unit for Chiltern Railways from 1998. The Class 168 was designed by Bombardier (the post-1992 successor to BREL/ABB Derby Litchurch Lane) to a Chiltern specification building on the Networker Turbo lineage of the late 1990s, and incorporated some BR-era design heritage from the Class 165 family.
The Class 168 entered service in 1998 and 1999, with later deliveries continuing into the 2000s as Class 168/1, 168/2 and 168/3 sub-classes. The class continues today on Chiltern's Marylebone–Birmingham main-line and outer-suburban services.
