Class 379 Electrostars begin new duties on Great Northern services

Govia Thameslink Railway has launched its additional fleet of Class 379 Electrostars to support its services on the Great Northern and Thameslink routes.

Leased from Porterbrook, the 30 units were built for Stansted Express by Bombardier in 2011. They were acquired from Akiem in March 2024.

The first two four-carriage units (379002 and 379022) began service on February 10, operating as an eight-carriage train on the 1742 King’s Cross-Letchworth Garden City service. They will continue running these services every weekday, with more units expected to enter service shortly.

Alstom recently signed a £24 million contract with GTR to overhaul the trains, alongside Porterbrook. It will carry out the work on the remaining sets at its Crewe Works facility, overhauling the bogies, heating, ventilation and air-conditioning units. Real-time monitoring will also be installed on the trains - a first for a set of ‘379s’.

The reintroduction into service of the ‘379s’ has strengthened the relationship between Alstom and GTR. The two companies signed a technical support agreement in 2022 worth £256m, whereby the manufacturer will support and maintain GTR’s fleet of ‘377s’ and ‘387s’.