Inaugural Crossrail Class 345 service launched

Crossrail carried its first passengers aboard Class 345 electric multiple units on June 22 when 345005 left London Liverpool Street with a 1035 extra service to Shenfield.

Transport for London (TfL) Commissioner Mike Brown joined a small number of passengers aboard the inaugural service, which also carried a selection of photographers and journalists.

Eventually there will be 66 trains in Crossrail’s Class 345 fleet, and from December 2019 it will carry passengers across London from Reading and Heathrow in the west to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east. By that time it is due to have been renamed the Elizabeth Line.

The ‘345s’ feature a mix of longitudinal and bay seating in ‘2+2’ layout, with ample space devoted to standing passengers who will have the benefit of hanging straps and roof grab rails. Each coach has three double doors, and there are wide gangways between the cars.

Mike Brown said: “This is an important day for rail travel and for millions of passengers who will use the Elizabeth Line when services start in December next year.”

TfL predicts that Crossrail will increase London’s rail capacity by 10%, and will help cope with a projected population increase from 8.6 million to 10 million by 2030.

Bombardier is building Crossrail’s Class 345 fleet in Derby. Project Director Joe Bednall said: “It gives me great pride that the team at Bombardier has been involved from the design stage to the building and testing of a train as technically advanced as this, within record timescales.”

The train is the first in Britain to run without a yellow end since RSSB removed the need for them last year for trains equipped with the latest design of headlights.

In the week following the first run, a ‘345’ ran one daily off-peak return service between Liverpool Street and Shenfield and worked driver-training runs for the rest of the time. Crossrail said the number of passenger journeys would increase over the next few weeks. By autumn, there will be 11 units in service, according to TfL.

At its initial seven-car length, a Class 345 weighs 264 tonnes, is 160m long and seats 350; it can run at up to 90mph. Eventually the 345s will consist of nine cars each and be 200-metre, fixedformation trains.

ANTONY GUPPY. Crossrail 345005 stands at Stratford on June 22, with the 1139 Shenfield-London Liverpool Street. This was the first time a ‘345’ had operated in passenger service.

PHILIP HAIGH. Crossrail’s Class 345s will replace Class 315s built in 1980-1981 on services to Shenfield. These two pictures show the internal contrast between the two types.