A NEW Class 700 Siemens-built train for Thameslink is carrying invited guests for the first time today (24 May) on a special showcasing trip from London Blackfriars to East Croydon.
The new high capacity trains, built in the German Rhineland, have been arriving for several months and have made numerous commissioning trips from the new depot at Three Bridges.
Today's event marks the formal unveiling of the trains in Britain, after test runs with guests on board in Germany.
The fleet consists of fixed formations of eight and 12 cars, with no intermediate driving cabs. Such formations are unusual on modern electric units for British commuter routes, which are customarily supplied as three-, four- or five-car sets capable of being worked in multiple as required up to lengths of 10 or 12 cars.
Govia Thameslink Railway CEO Charles Horton said: “Not only will many of these trains be longer and more spacious, they’ll be cutting edge with real-time information from around the network and the Tube, and excellent facilities for people with disabilities.
“These trains have been designed to carry up to 1,750 people in climate-controlled comfort, which is essential to meet the huge growth in passenger numbers that have soared 40 per ccent in the past decade.
“And their wide doors, open interiors and state-of-the-art real-time passenger information systems will help us run a high frequency, high intensity service with over 80 per cent more seats across the heart of London in 2018.”
The trains are essentially Metro units, with plenty of standing space as well as wide doors. The layout, specified by the Department for Transport, is seen to be essential if the trains are to meet the requirement to maintain 2.5 minute headways through the Thameslink core section between Blackfriars and St Pancras.
Rail minister Claire Perry said: “This is another significant milestone for the multi-billion pound Thameslink Programme. Projects like this show how our record £40 billion investment in the railways is delivering better journeys for passengers across the South East and beyond.
“This impressive new fleet of hi-tech trains will make a real difference to commuters and leisure travellers, with more space and better information screens. I look forward to seeing the improvements to passengers’ journeys as these trains are introduced to the Thameslink network.”
Thameslink's existing fleets will be cascaded to various routes as the 700s enter service from this year. The oldest, the Class 319 units, are set to head north for further service on newly-electrified routes, while the newest Class 387s are expected to go west, particularly for outer suburban services on the Great Western Main Line to Newbury and Oxford. The existing sets on Great Northern, which include Class 365s, will also go elsewhere.