British Rail Class 373

British Rail Class 373 Eurostar e300 TGV TMST
A refurbished Class 373 at Gare d'Albertville in 2018
The standard-class interior of a refurbished Class 373
Stock type	Electric multiple unit
In service	14 November 1994 – present
Manufacturer	GEC Alsthom Brugeoise et Nivelles
Built at	La Rochelle, France Belfort, France Washwood Heath, England Bruges, Belgium
Family name	TGV
Constructed	1992–1996
Number built	38 (31 × Three Capitals, 7 × North of London)
Number in service	11
Number scrapped	16
Successor	Class 374 (e320) TGV Duplex
Formation	20 cars per Three Capitals set 16 cars per North of London set (See § Set formation)
Capacity	Three Capitals as built: 750 seats Three Capitals refurb.: 758 seats North of London: 558 seats
Operators	Eurostar
Depots	Current: Temple Mills (UK) Technicentre du Landy (France) Former: North Pole (UK)[1]
Specifications
Car body construction	Steel
Train length	387 m (1,269 ft 8 in)
Car length	Driving vehicles: 22.15 m (72 ft 8 in) Vehicles with one full bogie:[ex 1] 21.84 m (71 ft 8 in) Intermediate trailers: 18.70 m (61 ft 4 in)
Width	2.81 m (9 ft 3 in)
Wheel diameter	900 mm[2]
Maximum speed	300 km/h (186 mph)
Weight	Three Capitals empty: 752 t (740 long tons; 829 short tons) Three Capitals loaded: 815 t (802 long tons; 898 short tons) North of London: 665 t (654 long tons; 733 short tons)
Traction system	GEC-Alsthom GTO-VVVF
Traction motors	12 × Brush TM2151B asynchronous three-phase AC (max 1,020 kW (1,370 hp) each)
Power output	On 25 kV: 12.24 MW (16,414 hp) On 3,000 V: 5.70 MW (7,644 hp)[3] On 700 V: 3.40 MW (4,559 hp)[3]
Tractive effort	Starting: 410 kN (92,172 lbf) on 25 kV 350 kN (78,683 lbf) on 1.5 kV or 750 V Continuous: 220 kN (49,458 lbf) @ 200 km/h (124 mph) on 25 kV[3]
Gear ratio	1 : 2,19[2]
Electric system(s)	Overhead line:       25 kV 50 Hz AC       3,000 V DC       1,500 V DC Third rail, 750 V DC (removed)
Current collector(s)	Pantograph Contact shoes (removed)
UIC classification	(See § Set formation)
Safety system(s)	AWS KVB TBL TPWS TVM-430
Coupling system	Scharfenberg
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge

The British Rail Class 373, known in France as the TGV TMST and branded by Eurostar as the Eurostar e300, is a French designed and Anglo-French built electric multiple unit train that was used for Eurostar international high-speed rail services from the United Kingdom to France and Belgium through the Channel Tunnel. Part of the TGV family, it was built with a smaller cross-section to fit the smaller loading gauge in Britain, was originally capable of operating on the UK third rail network, and has extensive fireproofing in case of fire in the tunnel. It is both the second longest—387 metres (1,269 ft 8 in)—and second fastest train in regular UK passenger service, operating at speeds of up to 300 kilometres per hour (186 mph).

Known as the TransManche Super Train (TMST) or Cross-channel Super Train before being introduced in 1993, the train is designated Class 373 under the British TOPS classification system and series 373000 TGV in France. It was built by the Anglo-French company GEC-Alsthom at its factories in La Rochelle (France), Belfort (France) and Washwood Heath (Britain) and by Brugeoise et Nivelles (BN, now part of Bombardier Transportation)^[4] in Bruges (Belgium).

Since the introduction of the new Class 374 e320 units from Siemens in 2015, refurbished versions of the Class 373 or TGV-TMST sets have been officially referred to as e300 by Eurostar to distinguish them from the new Velaro fleet.^[5]

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