Hitachi Rail Europe (HRE) has also been contracted to build and deliver 70 AT200 Class 385 EMUs for ScotRail - the first two complete trains are in the UK, with a further two undergoing testing in the Czech Republic.
HRE has also taken delivery of two three-car trains from Japan, for final fitting at Newton Aycliffe and to ensure the production line is up to scratch. These units (385005/006) will be delivered to SR next year, with the Japanese manufacturer contracted to deliver 24 trains by December 2017. They will initially be used on the newly electrified services between Edinburgh Waverley and Glasgow Queen Street.
On December 9, Transport for London took delivery of the first Class 345 for Crossrail. Delivered as a seven-car train, 345002 will eventually be extended to a nine-car EMU. It is one of two ‘345s’ built by Bombardier and which has undergone testing at Old Dalby, but the first to move to Ilford, where it will be based for main line testing.
The Aventras will enter traffic from May 2017 on the Shenfield-London Liverpool Street route, replacing pairs of elderly Class 315s. There are 66 nine-car trains on order, with the first 14 to be delivered as seven-car EMUs before being retro-fitted at a later date.
Also on December 9, South West Trains 707001 was delivered to Clapham Junction for commissioning. Like the ‘700s’ for GTR, the five-car EMU is part of Siemens’ Desiro City family. Thirty are on order for use on SWT suburban routes.
The trains are designed to boost capacity out of the UK’s busiest station (London Waterloo), and will often operate in pairs. Deliveries are scheduled to be fortnightly, and their entry into traffic is planned for the first quarter of next year.
On the locomotive front, eight Direct Rail Services Class 68s were delivered from Spain (68018-68025), and all are now in traffic. Also entering traffic last year were 68016/017, which were delivered in 2015. Built by Stadler in Valencia, they will be followed this year by 68026-68034.
Also following these ‘68s’ are the ten dual-mode Class 88s (RAIL 816), which will be used on freight duties by DRS. These are designed to revolutionise the freight industry by offering the ‘last mile’ solution for which many operators have called. Initially they are expected to be used on intermodal trains, but will migrate to other duties.
Stadler also delivered seven three-car tram-trains to Sheffield Supertram during the year (399001-399007). These will enter traffic this year, albeit as conventional trams initially while Network Rail completes the work required to enable them to run to Rotherham as planned. That is scheduled for completion in summer 2018, although Rail Minister Paul Maynard was unable to give a firm commitment as to when the tram-trains would begin running until an NR review is completed and submitted.
As RDG points out, there is a lot to look forward to. But in terms of new trains, the rail revolution has already begun.
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