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Bombardier wins contract to build new London Overground fleet

Bombardier has won a £260m contract from Transport for London to build a fleet of new trains for London Overground.

The 45 new trains, to be introduced in 2018, will operate on the Liverpool Street to Enfield Town, Cheshunt (via Seven Sisters) and Chingford routes, which became part of the TfL network in May. They will also be used on routes between Barking and Gospel Oak and between Romford and Upminster.

Earlier this week RTM reported that new London Overground routes had gotten off to a rough start as they were beset by delays, cancellations and trains being made up of fewer carriages than usual.

The issues were blamed on the inherited trains on the route, Overground director Mike Stubbs said: "Some of these trains are over 30 years old and we have been experiencing some technical issues with them.”

Thirty-one of the new trains will replace all the old Class 315 and Class 317 trains on the West Anglia and Romford to Upminster routes, and eight new four-carriage trains are for the electrification of the existing Overground route between Gospel Oak and Barking.

Bombardier built the first fleet of Class 378 Capitalstars for London Overground after 2007. Currently all 57 are being upgraded to five cars, having originally been built as three and then extended to four as passenger demand grew.

The new rolling stock will be similar to the original fleet, with walk-through interiors, air-conditioning and improved accessibility.

The contract, which is subject to a statutory ten-day standstill period, will see the trains built at Bombardier’s facility in Derby.

Mike Brown MVO, MD of London Rail, said: “These 45 new trains will significantly improve the comfort, reliability and overall quality of train services for our customers. Some of the trains we have inherited along the West Anglia route are over 30 years old and have not been in use for some time. We’re now working hard to overhaul these trains to make them more reliable until the new trains come into service from 2018.

“Ordering new trains for the Gospel Oak to Barking line and West Anglia route together, as well as including a provision to order more trains should passenger demand warrant additional capacity, ensures that we get best value for money for our customers.”

The contract between TfL and Bombardier includes maintenance as well as the manufacture of the new fleet. It also gives TfL options to order more trains to meet future demand and provide potential frequency improvements.

(Picture by: Jim Linwood)

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