Published on: Friday, 14 September 2018
Last updated: Friday, 14 September 2018
These are pictures of the first carriages from the new Greater Anglia trains which will be used to take commuters from East Anglia into London Liverpool Street, as they near completion.
UK train manufacturer Bombardier is making 111 new electric trains for Greater Anglia to replace all of the company’s existing commuter trains in Essex, Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire and parts of Suffolk.
The first of the trains, which will all be longer and have more seats on board, are starting to roll off the production line at the Bombardier factory in Derby, ready for testing and commissioning.
In total, Bombardier is making 665 new carriages, which will form 22 ten-carriage trains and 89 five-carriage trains.
Every train will have more seats, air conditioning, plug and USB sockets, accessible toilets, cycle spaces and free fast wifi.
There will be underfloor heating which will work in combination with air conditioning units, eliminating the need for heating vents at the edges of the carriages, and so create more legroom.
There will also be improved customer information screens in each carriage, with details of available seats across the whole train, as well as destination data.
There are no doors between the carriages, making it easier to walk through the train and contributing to a lighter, airier interior.
The seats have been specially designed for Greater Anglia, with a unique “S” shape to the back for better comfort, which also creates more leg room for the person sitting behind.
The first of the Bombardier trains will start to come into service in autumn next year, although people will start to see them around the Greater Anglia network from the first quarter of next year as they undergo safety, reliability and performance testing and driver familiarisation.
Andrew Goodrum, Greater Anglia business readiness director, who is responsible for the introduction of the new trains, said: “It’s great to see these new trains nearing completion. It’s now possible to see the huge difference they’re going to make to our commuters and other customers travelling to and from London Liverpool Street and across much of the Greater Anglia network.
“These new trains should be much more comfortable for customers, as well as more reliable.”
Alan Fravolini, portfolio director for Aventra projects at Bombardier, said: “It’s wonderful to see the first completed UK-designed and built cars roll off the production line at Derby, and is the result of a good deal of hard work and strong cooperation between Bombardier, Greater Anglia and Angel.”
Kevin Tribley CEO of Angel Trains, the company procuring and financing the 665 Bombardier vehicles, said: “We are delighted to see the first Class 720 Aventra trains come off the production line. The £900m deal Angel Trains signed in September 2016 to procure these new vehicles was one of the largest private investments into rolling stock in the last 20 years and is helping transform the East Anglia franchise. The new rolling stock will significantly increase capacity and improve passenger experience.”
Greater Anglia is replacing every single train with brand new trains which will all be in service by the end of 2020. Swiss company, Stadler, is manufacturing 58 of them.
