Work begins on Merseyrail Class 777 EMUs

Construction of Merseyrail Class 777 electric multiple units (EMUs) is under way at Stadler’s Szolnok factory in Hungary. Fifty-two fourcar EMUs are on order. They will enter traffic from 2020.

Design work is almost complete, and initial raw materials have been sent to Hungary. Stadler said the first metal will be cut soon, and that all the on-board systems have been ordered.

The second phase of design has been completed in Valencia, in Spain. This relates to the visual and technical aspects of the ‘777s’. Merseytravel, which is buying the trains, has the final say over all design aspects.

Over the next few months, the car bodies will be machined, welded, sandblasted and given anti-corrosion protection before being painted. When that is complete, around half the vehicles will be transported to Altenrhein in Switzerland, and the rest to Siedlce in Poland, for final assembly. The first car body is expected to be delivered this September.

The first ‘777’ is expected on Merseyside in summer 2019.

Stadler Project Manager Fadi Khairallah said: ‘The car bodies for the new trains are highly sophisticated and tailor-made to suit the characteristics of the network - for example, the single-bore tunnels under the River Mersey, as well as the platforms of some of the historic stations built during the Victorian era.”