The British classes 220, 221 and 222 designate diesel-electric multiple units which were built by Bombardier and reach a top speed of 125 mph or 201 km/h. Independent of the length of the sets, each car has a 750 hp Cummins QSK19 providing power to the inner axle of each bogie. They became notorious when trains running over the Dawlish Seawall in south Devon during storms were stopped by software shutdowns. These were caused by the effect of salt water spaying over the roof-mounted brake resistor grids.
The class 220 is called “Voyager” and is made up of four cars. In 2000 and 2001, 34 sets were built. The main change of the class 221 “Super Voyager” is the tilting mechanism, what can be recognized by the outside-frame bogies instead of the inside-frame bogies of the 220. These 44 sets built in 2001 and 2002 can consist of four or five cars. Both classes can be run in multiple with each other.
The class 222 carries the name “Meridian”. It doesn't have a tilting mechanism and also has the inside-frame bogies seen on the 220. Between 2003 and 2005, 27 sets were built with either four or nine cars each. They were later configured to five and seven cars. Although they were already replaced by trains like the class 810 on some lines, they still have a future due to the many non-electrified lines in Britain.
