On 31 July, the first Siemens-built Class 700 Desiro City train for Thameslink arrived in the UK for testing. It was delivered to the newly built Three Bridges train-care facility near Crawley (West Sussex).
Siemens (
www.siemens.co.uk) and Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) (
www.gtrailway.com) will now undertake an ‘exhaustive’ testing programme ahead of passenger services beginning in spring 2016.
It will initially run between Bedford and Brighton — and later on routes to and from Cambridge and Peterborough, as well as other destinations in Kent and Sussex.
The delivery of the first train is part of the Thameslink programme of infrastructure improvements and new rolling stock that will ultimately transform north-south travel, reducing crowding and improving reliability.
Combined with the redevelopment of London Bridge and a better signalling system, the new trains will allow GTR to run 24 trains per hr through the Thameslink core in central London. Many of the train’s components are being manufactured by UK suppliers, though the trains themselves are being built in Krefeld, Germany.
Iain Smith, programme director of the Thameslink rolling-stock project at Siemens, said: “The arrival of the first train into Three Bridges is a real milestone for Thameslink — and a hugely exciting moment for us at Siemens.
“We will now be focused on testing and commissioning the train, while GTR trains drivers and maintenance staff to ensure that everything is ready for the start of service next year.”