More Gatwick Express-bound ‘387/2s’ delivered for February start

As this issue of RAIL went to press, Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) announced that it planned to put Class 387/2s into traffic with Gatwick Express later this month.

The four-car, dual-voltage, 110mph electric multiple units are being built by Bombardier at Derby Litchurch Lane, and will replace 24 five-car Class 442s that date from 1987.

The Class 442s were withdrawn by South West Trains in 2007 and transferred to the Gatwick Express franchise, but received criticism for their unsuitability for carrying airport traffic. As well as running to Gatwick, the ‘442s’ also serve Brighton, London Bridge and Eastbourne.

The Gatwick Express operations are part of the Govia Thameslink Railway ‘mega-franchise’.

GTR spokesman Chris Hudson told RAIL of the ‘387/2s’: “As they come in, they will be used for driver training, and so on. We don’t expect the whole fleet to be built and delivered before the summer, which was the original plan.”

The trains are delivered to Bletchley for commissioning, and complete mileage accumulation runs between Wembley and Crewe using overhead line electrification, and then on the third-rail network to Brighton.

As this issue of RAIL went to press, 387209 had been the latest to be delivered. It had arrived at the Bletchley facility on December 23, and follows 387201-203/ 205-208.

So far, 387201-203 have been accepted, and were at Stewarts Lane awaiting acceptance into traffic.

At Derby on December 18, 387204 was undergoing OLE testing, while 387210/211 were awaiting acceptance by Porterbrook (which owns the trains) before moving to Bletchley. 387215 was in various stages of construction.

Bombardier had been building 3.2 Electrostar vehicles per week, but that was increased to four vehicles per week from the start of this year.