03.02.16
First Gatwick Express Class 387-2 to enter service by end of month
The first new Gatwick Express four-car Class 387/2 EMU will enter service between London Victoria and Gatwick Airport on 29 February.
This will mark the first of the 27 new Electrostars to be rolled out across Gatwick Express over the coming months to replace the current 30-year-old fleet.
The trains are based on the Class 387/1 carriages ordered for use on Thameslink services between Bedford and Brighton, but have been specially designed to better serve passengers going to and from the airport.
As a result, the new £145m fleet comprises 108 carriages with more first class seats, power sockets throughout, on-train wi-fi, over-seat lighting and 2x2 seating with more leg room and under-seat storage capacity.
The fleet was bought by Govia Thameslink Railway in November 2014 to replace the five-car fleet of 1980s Class 442 EMUs that have been operating on the route since 2008, but have never been considered ideal stock to run an airport rail link.
As part of the testing process, which is being carried out at Bombardier’s Derby plant, a newly branded train stopped off briefly at Gatwick recently, giving passengers on the platform a sneak preview.
Passenger services director at Gatwick Express, Angie Doll, said: “We’re really excited about the news that the first new Gatwick Express train will be landing at Gatwick Airport station at the end of this month.
“The new fleet will replace 30-year old trains which are not designed for today’s airport passenger, and our new trains will transform the travelling experience with double doors for easier boarding and alighting, power points for laptops and chargers, wi-fi, more luggage space and improved reliability.”
But Doll said new trains are just the start, with a “raft of further exciting improvements” expected from summer, as well as a new station, more trains and an improved rail network for Gatwick’s users.
Just last month, Transport for London also extended Oyster card ‘pay as you go’ and contactless accessibility to Gatwick Airport, as reflected in its latest and largest ever London rail map. Passengers have been able to use their smartcard on Gatwick Express between Victoria and the airport since 11 January.