page_title: British Rail Class 153
section_title: West Midlands
hierarchical_section_title: British Rail Class 153 / Operations / Post privatisation / West Midlands
caption_attribution_description: English: An unusual sight at Wellington (Shropshire) train station as a London Midland Class 153 arrives at Platform 2 on a 19:59 service to Shrewsbury.
context_page_description: The British Rail Class 153 Super Sprinters are single-coach railcars converted from two-coach Class 155 diesel multiple units in the early 1990s. The class was intended for service on rural and branch lines where passenger numbers do not justify longer trains.
context_section_description: West Midlands Trains used eight Class 153 DMUs on commuter lines in the West Midlands including the Leamington Spa to Nuneaton line and the Marston Vale line between Bedford and Bletchley. After Class 172 from London Overground and Class 230s deployment on those two lines, they are used with of Class 170 and Class 172s on Birmingham-Hereford and Snow Hill Lines.
  All eight were inherited from Central Trains in their livery. All were repainted into London Midland city lines livery upon refurbishment at Eastleigh Works. The Class 153s that were used on the Stourbridge Town branch line have been replaced by new built lightweight Class 139 railcars. This was due to take place in December 2008, but the delivery of the new units was delayed, and after several months of bustitution London Midland reintroduced diesel services from 15 March pending the completion of Class 139 testing. The Class 139 received passenger certification from Network Rail in March 2009 and the service finally began three months later.
caption: London Midland Class 153 at Wellington in May 2011
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