The first of a fleet of new trains for the London Overground and TfL Rail routes has been shown off, with USB charging points and a brand new seat moquette. The first new trains will be introduced between Gospel Oak and Barking to double the existing capacity and replace the 35 year old trains on West Anglia routes.
(c) TfL
The first of the new trains will be in passenger service by November — 18 months later than originally expected due to delays in electrification of the railway.
The number of people using the Gospel Oak to Barking service has grown exponentially since it became integrated into the TfL network and the new electric trains will have four-cars, doubling the capacity of the current diesel stock to almost 700 customers per train, relieving congestion on this line between north and east London.
The trains are being built at Bombardier Transport’s UK site in Derby where 120 local engineering staff have worked on the design and testing of the trains. A further 170 staff have been working on manufacturing the trains, with 50 per cent of these recruited specifically to fulfil this contract. Twenty apprentices have worked on the production of the trains. Around 50 per cent of the supply chain was with UK suppliers and worth £56m, indirectly supporting further jobs across the country.
The Class 710 train being supplied is a development of Bombardier’s Aventra electric multiple unit design, as already in use on the London Overground and future Elizabeth line.
Final approval of the much-delayed work carried out by Network Rail to electrify the Gospel Oak to Barking route was completed last week, which signals the next phase of this project. The new trains will now be tested on this new infrastructure over the summer to prove they meet TfL’s safety and reliability requirements.
Drivers will undergo training over the summer on simulators before the first of the new trains enters passenger service.
(c) TfL
A fleet of 54 trains has been ordered.
The first eight trains will be introduced on the newly electrified Gospel Oak to Barking by November. They will then be brought onto the Watford to Euston route and on services out of Liverpool Street to Cheshunt, Chingford and Enfield Town replacing the current fleet, some which are over 35 years old that TfL inherited when it took over the suburban routes from Abellio Greater Anglia in 2015.
Once the new trains are in use on the Watford-Euston line, the existing trains serving that route will be used to increase capacity on the East London line.
The new trains will also be used on the extension to Barking Riverside when it is completed in 2021.
What a huge upgrade for the Goblin!
Did they say when how quickly these trains will be in service on the other lines? (Eg the Lea Valley Lines?)
I’m not totally convinced that the bay platform at Gospel Oak is long enough but, TFL must have measured it.
Why only two sets of door per carriage again?
More doors means fewer seats and far more people are going to complain about fewer seats than about fewer doors.
The prototypes for what are now classes 313, 315 etc. had three doors per car. The production build had the familiar two doors to save costs. Ever since, Metro like National Rail services have suffered the impact of this: longer dwell times, reduced capacity through signalling constraints and more trains and crews required to provide the same frequency…
Slightly puzzled by the reference to Aventras already being in use on the Overground. TfL Rail yes but Overground?
I’m not sure where “18 months late” comes from (apart from the local rag). The press release from when they were ordered in 2015 says they’d enter service “in 2018”.
https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2015/june/thousands-of-london-overground-customers-set-for-new-trains
The electrification works may well be getting on for 18 months late (vs the originally planned to be finished in early 2017), but if that had gone to plan there would have been a long delay before the new trains arrived. I remember enthusiasts pondering whether TfL should hire in other trains to cover the gap.
So the trains entering service in November will be at most a few months late
While electrification of goblin might be late the fact these trains have only just arrived shows that they have simply come just in time . As had they been ready much earlier they would surely have been used on existing electrified routes until goblin was ready .
I notice this train has longitudinal seating just like existing Overground and will this also be the case on West Anglia routes ?
This probably answers my query – I did wonder if the electrification of GOBLIN was late, why the new trains were not just swapped onto the Watford and Euston route first (rather than GOBLIN). So it seems the trains are “on-time” or would there be another reason for not accepting them earlier and allocating them to one of their other routes first?
Once again, in my opinion, a very unsafe interior design:
There are no bulk heads, a crowded train that stops suddenly will have all the people crushed on to each other. The only safe place is at the back. The S Stock on the Underground does have a lot of ‘bulk heads’ or partitions along their length, but not the 378s and now not these either.
Sideways seating is not allowed in road vehicles as it is deemed unsafe, why is it ok on rail? It doesn’t save space, as there are only enough straps to hang on for the same number of people as would be able to fit between ‘proper’ seating.
Pretty sure they’ve thought about health and safety..
There are bulkheads but they’re offset from the doors.
I am looking forward to seeing them and to ride on them once they enter service. Hopefully they be operated on the Romford-Upminster branch line and on the Lea Valley lines. About time to ditch the older trains and replace them with new air-conditioned trains that will feature wifi, better information display and a much smoother quieter and quicker journey into the capital.
I think London Overground might retain 1 Class 315 just for the Romford-Upminster branch line. Whilst the rest of the Class 315’s and Class 317’s on the Lea Valley Lines and Class 172’s on the Gospel Oak-Barking line will be replaced by the Class 710’s. And Class 378’s on the Euston-Watford DC Line and North London Line & West London Line to be transferred to East London Line services to boost capacity and reduce overcrowding. But some of the Class 378’s could be retained for North London Line and West London Line.
This is what the livery of the 345’s should be (albeit in purple). They look amazing.
The 345 Aventra trains currently running between Liverpool Street and Shenfield have some (not enough in my old fashioned opinion) transverse seating. Will the 710s have them? I prefer looking at the scenery rather than my fellow passengers.