SOUTH WEST TRAINS has announced that it intends to expand its fleet with 30 additional five-car trains The value of the order to Siemens for 150 Desiro City vehicles is £210 million, and the fleet will be leased to SWT by Angel Trains.
SWT said the new trains would enter service in 2017 and 2018, and accommodate more than 18,000 extra peak-time passengers every day travelling to London Waterloo. They will also carry a further 6,000 daily peak-time passengers once infrastructure upgrades are completed on the main line and Hounslow loop.
Jobs will also be boosted. Around 140 jobs will be created and new employment opportunities will be available for depot engineers, drivers, guards and maintenance staff.
The trains will be maintained by South West Trains at Wimbledon depot, which has recently received investment of £6 million. More is planned.
Tim Shoveller, chief executive for the South West Trains-Network Rail Alliance, said: “These exciting plans will deliver the biggest step-change in capacity and service to our customers on the network in decades.
“As well as providing extra space for passengers using our services now, the combination of investment in the infrastructure and these new trains will create space at Waterloo that is the essential first step to allow an increase in capacity for our longer distance, main line services. We will also continue to work with industry partners to develop options for the longer term.
“The unique Alliance between South West Trains and Network Rail means that we have been able to work together to deliver an effective and value for money solution to a complex challenge that also involves major infrastructure improvements at the UK’s busiest station. This is a great example of one of the major benefits that can be offered by working in partnership."
Steve Scrimshaw, who is managing director for Siemens Rail Systems, said: “The new Desiro City trains will transform the lives of passengers travelling on south-western England’s rail network. Those passengers already benefit from some of the UK’s best-loved trains, the Desiro UK, but the Desiro City takes the best and makes it even better. No other train in the UK is as technologically advanced and offers as many benefits in terms of passenger environment, capacity and reliability. This is a clear example of our country, the Department for Transport and the South West Trains – Network Rail Alliance leading the way, responding to passenger needs and network growth and making a significant investment into the future.”
A much larger fleet of Desiro City trains has already been ordered for Thameslink, and the first of these are now under construction in Germany.