GWR to start running ‘387s’ to Hayes on September 5
ELECTRIC services between London Paddington and Hayes & Harlington begin on September 5, using brand new Great Western Railway Class 387 Electrostars.
GWR confirmed an order for 37 four-car Class 387s on June 8 ( RAIL 802), joining a fleet of eight ‘387s’ that had been ordered in March 2015 ( RAIL 771). Bombardier will build the trains, and testing of the first ‘387’ for GWR has already begun at the manufacturer’s Derby Litchurch Lane facility.
The ‘387s’ will replace most of the Turbos used on the Thames Valley routes, with some diesel multiple units retained for branches that will not be electrified.
GWR Managing Director Mark Hopwood said: “The Thames Valley is one of the most popular rail corridors in the UK. We’d already promised the current fleet would be upgraded to provide much needed additional capacity and faster journey times, but this deal
goes even further, offering the comfort of what will be the most up-to-date commuter fleet on the UK rail network.”
The GWR ‘387s’ will be fitted with power sockets, airconditioning and free WiFi, and will be used in four-car, eight-car and 12-car formations. GWR says that the latter will offer 97 additional seats compared with the longest Turbostar order, while initially, using the ‘387s’ on the services to Hayes will offer an additional 1,400 seats at peak time.
Porterbrook confirmed that the deal includes 92 additional Class 387 vehicles (23 four-car trains), to be built by October 2017. A further 56 vehicles (14 four-car trains) will be from the speculative Class 387 order placed in October, when the rolling stock leasing company placed an order for 20 (six will go to c2c).
The deal also means that the planned cascade of Class 387/1s from Govia Thameslink Railway will now not happen, and nor will the cascade of Class 365s. The first ‘387/1’ is due to move to GTR’s Great Northern operations imminently.
Rail Minister Claire Perry said: “Projects like this show how our record investment in the railways is making a real difference to commuters and leisure travellers, as well as stimulating economic growth across the Thames Valley and beyond.”
The trains will be owned by Porterbrook. Commercial Director Olivier André said: “With this investment, Porterbrook demonstrates its support to the aspirations of the rail industry and the Department for Transport to alleviate the capacity pinch-points in the network, and provide Britain with a sustainable, world-class transport system.”