00 EMUs in “next few weeks”
also being fitted at stations across the Thameslink network. Screens will also carry real-time service information both for the GTR and Transport for London networks.
Fully accessible toilets have been fitted, while there are also spaces for full-sized bicycles in the offpeak and storage for fold-up bikes in the peak.
Controversially there are no plug sockets, Standard Class tables or WiFi. Both Siemens and GTR told RAIL that discussions are ongoing regarding fitting these retrospectively.
“Not only will many of these trains be longer and more spacious, they will be cutting edge with real-time information from around the network and the Tube,” said GTR Chief Executive Officer Charles Horton.
He added that from 2018 they would help GTR run a “high frequency, high intensity service with over 80% more seats across the heart of London”.
Rail Minister Claire Perry said: “This impressive new fleet of hi-tech trains will make a real difference to commuters and leisure travellers, with more space and better information screens.”
Sabrina Soussan, chief executive of Mainline Transport at Siemens, said the ‘700’ was “yet another example of our innovation and investment in the Thameslink programme”. She added: “Today’s event gives commuters the first real insight as to what their future journeys will look like.”
The trains will also be the first to use both European Train Control System (ETCS) and Automatic Train Operation (ATO). Testing is under way on the Hertford Loop with ETCS, with ATO testing to follow.
Maintenance of the trains will be carried out at Three Bridges, where a brand new depot has been constructed, while in July a second depot opens at Hornsey for the ‘700s’. Visit www.railmagazine.com for coverage from Germany in April 2015, when RAIL visited the construction of the Class 700s at Krefeld, as well as testing of the trains at Wildenrath. For an in-depth analysis of the rolling stock cascade plan, read RailReview Q1-2015.