£800m new trains
The first 12 Class 717s on order for Govia Thameslink Railway begin testing at Siemens’ test track in Germany.
THE first 12 Class 717s on order for Govia Thameslink Railway (717001-012) have begun testing at Siemens’ Wildenrath test track in Germany.
A further 12 trainsets (717014717025) are currently being built at the manufacturer’s plant in Krefeld, while a 13th (717013) is complete and awaits transfer to Wildenrath, as part of a £200 million order placed in February 2016 for 25 six-car electric multiple units.
Financed by Rock Rail Moorgate (a joint venture between Rock Rail and Aberdeen Standard Investments), the dual-voltage ‘717s’ will enter service between autumn 2018 and spring 2019. They will replace GTR’s 42-yearold fleet of 44 three-car Class 313s on Great Northern-operated suburban services between London Moorgate, Welwyn Garden City, Stevenage, Hertford and Letchworth.
Two three-car ‘313’ sets will be sent off-lease for each ‘717’ delivered. These will return to owner Eversholt Rail, which is expected to send them for scrap.
Richard Carrington, Director of Rolling Stock Projects at Siemens, said: “The testing phase marks an important milestone in plans to introduce this new fleet of advanced trains for Great Northern services.
“We have designed and built the trains with one goal in mind - to transform passenger journeys to and from London by ensuring that services are reliable and offer as much space as possible.”
Class 717 is the third variant of Siemens’ Desiro City range of trains developed for the UK market. GTR already operates 115 Class 700 trains in eightand 12-car formations on its Thameslink routes, while a fleet of 30 five-car Class 707s is currently in traffic with South Western Railway.
The ‘717s’ use the same bodyshells and operating systems as the ‘700s’ and ‘707s’, and also come equipped with open gangways, plug sockets, airconditioning, wheelchair spaces and 2+2 seating throughout.
There is also free WiFi and a realtime passenger information system (PIS) fitted, although unlike the trains in service with Thameslink and SWR, the facility to display individual carriage loading has not been activated.
To maximise capacity, there is no First Class provision, seat back tables or onboard toilets, while luggage storage is provided entirely by overhead racks.
The ‘717’ fleet will offer 27% more capacity than the ‘313s’ (see panel), and will be maintained by GTR at Hornsey depot.
GTR Engineering Director Gerry McFadden added: “Wide doors and spacious interiors will help address the huge increase in passenger numbers into Moorgate that have doubled in just 14 years.
Easier movement on board will also help passengers board and alight promptly, helping us keep trains running on time.”
The main difference between the ‘717’ and the Class 700 and ‘707’ fleets is in its cab layout and design. Not only is the front end not yellow (following a change in standards in March 2016), it has a central gangway and door.
The driver’s seat is located on the left-hand side of the cab. This is to provide room for a manually operated extendable ladder, which enables passengers to evacuate the train in case of emergency within the narrow single-bore tunnels running between Moorgate and Drayton Park.
The cabs, which have been fully approved by drivers’ union ASLEF, are also equipped for Driver Only Operation and ETCS in-cab signalling, although GTR says it currently has no plans to use either of those systems (see panel).
The first ‘717’ is expected to arrive in the UK for acceptance in August via the Channel Tunnel, although Siemens has confirmed to RAIL that alternative options are being explored for possible transfer by sea, in case of prolonged disruption in France caused by ongoing industrial action by rail workers over government plans to change terms and conditions of employment. See feature, pages 68-69.