The British Rail Class 222 is a group of five or seven-car diesel-electric multiple-unit high-speed passenger train capable of . Twenty-seven sets were built by Bombardier Transportation in Bruges, Belgium from 2003 to 2005.
The Class 222 is part of the Bombardier Voyager family, bearing a similarity to the and trains currently operated by CrossCountry and Grand Central. Originally built for Midland Mainline and Hull Trains, today the class is operated by East Midlands Railway and is branded as the Meridian fleet.
All units are equipped with a Cummins QSK19 diesel engine beneath each car, producing at 1,800rpm. This powers a generator, also located beneath the cars, which supplies current to Alstom Onix 800 motors that drive two axles per coach. Approximately can be travelled between each refuelling.
The Class 222 utilises a rheostatic braking system alongside its air brake system, whereby power to the motors is disconnected, changing their function from motors to generators. The current produced is directed to resistors on the roof, where the electrical energy is dissipated as thermal energy. This therefore reduces wear on the brake shoes, extending their lifespan. During normal braking, the Class 222 can decelerate from in . During emergency braking, the distance is reduced to .
B5000 lightweight bogies were used, the same type as the Class 220 Voyager. The outside of the wheel is fully visible, as the supporting frame and bearings are located inboard.
The Class 222 is fitted with Dellner couplers, as on Class 220 Voyager and Class 221 Super Voyager trains, though these units cannot work in multiple unit during regular service, as the Class 222's electric systems are incompatible with those of the Voyager and Super Voyager. Additionally, the Dellner couplers allow Class 57 'Thunderbird' locomotives to couple and tow Class 222 sets in the case of an emergency.
With the exception of EMR Connect services, no route operated by East Midlands Railway is fully electrified. As a result, the majority of its fleet is composed of diesel trains such as the Class 222.
Midland Mainline introduced the first of 23 Class 222 units on 31 May 2004, branding them Meridian. These replaced all the and some of the High Speed Trains, having better acceleration than both of them. Initially, the 23 units ordered for Midland Mainline were four-car and nine-car. Over time these have been gradually modified to the current formations. The four-car units ordered by Hull Trains had an option when constructed to be extended to five cars if required.
Seven of the sets were nine-car Class 222 Meridians intended for an enhanced to service, but after the trains had been ordered, the Strategic Rail Authority decided not to allow them to run the service. The nine-car Meridians were used on London- and some London- services.
When the trains were ordered, Midland Mainline overestimated the number of first-class passengers, and the four-car Meridians had less standard-class seating than the three-car Turbostars they replaced. Coach D subsequently had a section of first-class seating declassified for use by standard-class passengers.
At the end of 2006, Midland Mainline removed a carriage from each of the nine-car sets and extended seven of the four-car sets, using the removed carriages.
Following the formation of the new East Midlands rail franchise in November 2007, the entire fleet of Class 222 Meridians was inherited by East Midlands Trains, which operated the expanded East Midlands rail franchise, including all routes previously run by Midland Mainline.
In 2008 further rearrangements were made to the sets: another carriage was removed from the eight-car Meridians, except for unit 222007, which was reduced to five cars with two of the first-class coaches converted to part standard and part first class. The surplus coaches were then added to the four-car Meridians. These changes, which took place from March to October 2008, resulted in six seven-car sets (222001âÂÂ222006) and 17 five-car sets (222007âÂÂ222023).
The seven-car trains are almost exclusively used on the fast services between London St Pancras and Sheffield. Since the retirement of the HSTs, they have commenced working London St Pancras to Leeds via Sheffield. The five-car trains are mainly used between London St Pancras and Sheffield, Nottingham or Corby on semi-fast services, and at off-peak times. The four-car trains supplement the five-car trains on these services, or can alternatively form standalone services.
In December 2008, the Class 222 Meridians started work on the hourly London St Pancras to Sheffield services, because they have faster acceleration than the High Speed Trains and so were able to reduce the Sheffield to London journey time by 12 minutes. The hourly Nottingham service was then transferred to High Speed Train running to cover for the Meridians now working the hourly Sheffield fast service.
In February 2009, units 222101 and 222102 transferred from Hull Trains to East Midlands Trains, and were quickly repainted in the East Midlands Trains white livery. Unit 222104 followed later in the year, and unit 222103 a further few months later after repairs had been completed: unit 222103 had been out of service for two years since early 2007, when the unit fell from jacks at Bombardier's Crofton works.
In August 2019, following the Department for Transport's awarding of the East Midlands franchise to Abellio, all of the 222 fleet transferred to new operator East Midlands Railway.
Hull Trains introduced Class 222 Pioneer units, to replace its in May 2005. The units reduced journey times between Hull and by up to 20 minutes. The Pioneers had a different interior colour scheme and less first-class seating than the Meridians.
First Hull Trains' fleet consisted of four four-car Pioneer units.
First Hull Trains decided to use only units from 2009 onwards. The Class 222 units were transferred to East Midlands Trains in 2008/09 and are now branded Meridian.
All are scheduled to be returned to Eversholt Rail Group in the future once units replace them entirely on EMR Intercity services.
In June 2025, it was announced that Lumo is going to lease 5 six-car Class 222 units. These will operate a service from to .
On 19 March 2026, ScotRail announced it will lease twenty-two Class 222 units to replace the current HST fleet and will undergo an ã80m overhaul and refurbishment programme, with the first train to enter service in late 2027.
In 2005, HSBC Rail took delivery of the seven nine-car trains planned for use by Midland Mainline on its London-Leeds service, but the trains were left idle when the Strategic Rail Authority prevented Midland Mainline from operating this service. HSBC Rail made contact with Northern Ireland Railways and Iarnród ÃÂireann, with a view to their leasing these units for use by Enterprise. Using these trains on the Belfast-Dublin line was one of a number of options, which also included the purchase of additional 22000 Class railcars or cascaded coaching stock. In the event, the trains entered service with MML providing the fast services from London to Nottingham, thus releasing High Speed Trains.
Grand Central, on the announcement of its open-access operation to in the summer of 2006, planned to run its services using five Class 222 units, with the intention of starting by the end of that year. However, this never happened, pushing back the planned start date while the company looked for alternatives. Grand Central finally started operating in December 2007 using three High Speed Trains.
East Midlands Trains refurbished its entire Class 222 fleet. The refurbishment included new seat covers and carpets in standard class. First class received new leather seat covers along with a new colour scheme and carpets. The refurbishment started in February 2011 and was complete by spring 2012.
In 2024, East Midlands Railway began a refurbishment programme on its entire Class 222 fleet, the programme mainly involved the refurbishment of the seating in standard class.
The following Meridians have been named: