17.03.20
Greater Anglia’s new electric trains complete test run
Rail operator Greater Anglia has begun testing the first of its brand-new electric commuter trains which will provide passengers with thousands of extra seats on their journeys to London.
Canadian manufacturer, Bombardier is responsible for constructing the 111 electric trains for Greater Anglia, which will replace all of the company’s existing electric trains on all services apart from the Norwich to London intercity service.
The new longer train was taken for a test run on the Southend Victoria line, in the early hours of this morning (March 17th), therefore progressing onto another milestone in the progress towards getting the trains in passenger service.
New trains have to undergo a series of performance and safety tests before they can come into full passenger service.
Checks include making sure they interact properly with the network such as points and signals, testing performance at different speeds and checking in at every station and platform to see if any signs or platform furniture needs to be relocated.
The new electric trains are all five or ten carriages, with each carriage longer than carriages on current trains. The five carriage trains have 544 seats and the ten-carriage trains have 1,145 seats.
As well as having plug and USB sockets, air conditioning, under floor heating, information screens the new trains are also greener.
Powered by electricity, 40% lighter than previous trains and feature regenerative braking which delivers energy into the electrical supply network rather than waste the energy, through heat, as in conventional systems.
Ian McConnell, Greater Anglia franchise and programmes director said: “We can’t wait to get these trains into service because they’re going to make such a positive difference to customers journeys, so it’s fantastic that this testing has begun.
“Once we are fully satisfied the trains are performing as we want them to, we will put them into passenger service which will be later this year.”
“As well as providing extra seats, they will also give our customers a much more comfortable journey as these brand-new trains have all the mod cons that 21st century rail passengers now expect.”
Will Tanner, Bombardier Transportation Communications Director said: “We are committed to getting these state-of-the-art Aventra trains into service with Greater Anglia as soon as we possibly can.
“We have two of our six production lines at our Derby factory dedicated to the project, and have recruited 400 extra staff since December to help reduce the delay to the project which has been caused by a range of factors. We have now built more than 230 of the 665 cars on order.”
Image: Greater Anglia