13.10.16
First Class 387-1 enters service on Great Northern
The first train in the Class 387/1 Electrostars fleet entered service on the Great Northern line this week.
From 10 October, the four-carriage train began running six services every day between King's Cross and Cambridge/Letchworth Garden City.
The Class 387/1s are the first air-conditioned trains on the line and also feature two-by-two seating, power sockets, modern passenger information systems and improved disability accessibility. They replace Class 317s and 321s that are around 30 years old.
Keith Jipps, Great Northern passenger services director, said: “We're thrilled the new train is in service. Passengers have said they think it's a vast improvement. They think it's light and airy and welcome the two-by-two seating.”
In total, Great Northern operator Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) will transfer 29 Class 387/1s from the Bedford-Brighton Thameslink route to Great Northern, to make way for the introduction of the Class 700 Desiro City trains.
From May next year, subject to Network Rail engineering work, they will also run on the Fen Line from Cambridge to King’s Lynn.
Their introduction will be followed by two other trains on Great Northern: the Class 700, which will run to and from Peterborough and Cambridge and link into the Thameslink route at St Pancras International in 2018; and the Class 717, which will operate on Moorgate services from 2019.
(Image c. GTR)
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