England cricket legend Stuart Broad CBE has joined South Western Railway (SWR) to celebrate the rollout of the Arterio fleet, officially naming one of their trains the Nighthawk in London Waterloo.
The former One Day and Twenty20 captain unveiled the Nighthawk a short trip up the line from Vauxhall, home to the Oval cricket ground where he took the final wicket in his last Test match.
Highlighting its suburban network as a hub for sporting excellence, SWR also named trains the Jockey for horseracing destinations such as Ascot, Sandown and Kempton Park; the Red Rose for English rugby at Twickenham; the Ace for the Wimbledon Championships; and the Thames Racer in honour of the Boat Race.
Five Arterios are already in service, serving the routes to Windsor & Eton Riverside and Shepperton, calling at some of SWR’s busiest stations including Earlsfield, Kingston, Richmond, Twickenham and Wimbledon.
Building on those destinations, it was also confirmed that the new fleet will serve stations including Dorking, Epsom, Guildford, Hampton Court and Reading over the next six months, moving SWR closer to its ultimate goal of transforming every journey on its suburban network.
Each ten-car Arterio carries over 50% more customers than the eight-car Class 455 trains they replace, significantly increasing capacity for customers. The £1 billion fleet will also improve customer comfort, providing modern features including Wi-Fi, charging points at every seat, real time information, accessible toilets and air conditioning.
To mark the Arterios being named and celebrate the next ten being rolled out, an orchestra played a medley of well-known sporting tunes, including the themes from TV’s Grandstand and Match of the Day and the film Chariots of Fire.
Image Credit: SWR
