29.10.15
Siemens finishes building first Class 707 bodyshell for South West Trains
Siemens has finished manufacturing and assembling the bodyshell of the first Class 707 Desiro City train today (29 October) as part of a £210m order for South West Trains (SWT).
This marks the first stage of development for the new fleet, set to run between London Waterloo and Windsor to improve passenger facilities and increase capacity.
All design work for the 30 five-carriage units has been finished and the first unit is expected to be built by the end of February next year.
Steve Scrimshaw, managing director at Siemens Rail Systems, said: “The start of manufacture for a new fleet of trains is always an exciting milestone. It gives a sense of real progress to a project that up until now has lived on paper, technical drawings and computer.
“We are now turning the designs into reality and drawing closer to the next key milestone, the first complete train running around our test track before the ultimate goal: delivering new, spacious and comfortable trains that really improve the passenger experience.”
The first train will begin testing in May 2016 before being delivered to SWT’s Wimbleton depot – where all trains will be maintained – by leasing company Angel Trains, in time for services starting in June 2017.
During this time, units will be extensively tested for reliability and will provide SWT staff with the opportunity to train on-board and become familiar with the train’s new systems.
The entire fleet is expected to be operational by the end of 2017.
Engineering director for SWT, Christian Roth, said: “The introduction of the brand new Class 707 Desiro City trains is an absolutely crucial part of our plans to provide the biggest increase in capacity on this network for decades.
“We are delighted manufacturing is now underway and look forward to welcoming the first units to the UK.”
The trains will be lighter than existing fleets, more energy efficient and feature state-of-the-art technology, including improved facilities.
They will also boast better on-board train information systems, free passenger wi-fi and ‘open gangways’ that allow commuters to see through and walk the length of the train more easily.
The new second generation Desiro City trains are also similar in style to the Class 700 units being produced for the Thameslink route.
Other existing SWT trains will be moved to other parts of the network when the new fleet is introduced in order to increase capacity on other key routes.