By August 6, there were more than 800 new passenger vehicles undergoing various testing and commissioning in the UK, as new trains continue to be delivered to operators.
These represent 16 different train types, with the biggest single order for Transport for London Class 345s. Thirty-five electric multiple units (34 nine-car trains and one seven-car set) are undergoing various tests.
The newest designs delivered are the Class 710s for London Overground and the ‘717s’ for Govia Thameslink Railway. As this issue of RAIL went to press, neither dual-voltage electric multiple unit had yet ventured onto the main line under their own power. Both fleets are due in traffic this autumn.
Fleets due to enter traffic before the end of the year are: CAF-built Mk 5s with Caledonian Sleeper; Mk 5As with TransPennine Express (CAF); Class 195s with Northern (CAF); ‘331s’ with Northern (CAF); ‘710s’ with London Overground (Bombardier); ‘717s’ on GTR’s Great Northern (Siemens); ‘800s’ and ‘801s’ with LNER (Hitachi); and ‘802s’ with Great Western Railway (Hitachi).
They will follow Hitachi-built Class 385s that have finally entered traffic with ScotRail, some seven months late (RAIL 858).
A further 2,407 are under various stages of construction in the UK and abroad, and will be delivered by mid-2020.
- For the FULL story, and a list of what is on test and what is being built, read RAIL 859, out now.
AndrewJG8918 - 21/08/2018 19:21
Not forgetting West Midlands Trains Class 730 and Class 196, c2c Class 711 Aventra and new trains for KeliosAmey Wales.