Govia Thameslink Railway and Porterbrook, the owner of trains leased by the operator, announced a five-year programme for rolling stock upgrade.
The GBP 55 million (EUR 60.4 million) project involves upgrade works for 270 trains comprising Southern, Gatwick Express and Great Northern ‘Electrostar’ fleets. The first upgraded train is expected to leave GTR’s Selhurst Depot in the autumn. When the programme is in full swing, GTR’s engineers, guided by the trains’ manufacturer Bombardier, will be working on a constant one-per-week stream of trains.
For project’s implementation, GTR will work with Porterbrook and Bombardier.
Enhancements range from real-time passenger information screens and USB/power points to high-tech on-board operation systems.
“We are committed to helping GTR meet the needs of its travelling customers. This is why Porterbrook are investing £55 million in the Electrostar fleet to significantly enhance passenger facilities and improve reliability using digital analytics,” Mary Grant, Porterbrook CEO, said.
The trains include 214 ‘Class 377s’ that provide suburban and commuter transport services on the Southern network between London, Surrey, Sussex and the south coast, and 56 ‘Class 387s’ operating on the Great Northern or Gatwick Express routes.
While parts of the fleet, including the Gatwick Express Class 387s, are just five years old, most have been in service for between 15 and 20 years. The rolling stock upgrade project will bring all 270 trains up to the same level of passenger facilities and the latest “smart” on-board diagnostic systems.
Under the project, GTR’s engineers will install features called for by passengers in recent research led by Transport Focus and funded by Porterbrook. These include USB/power sockets and on-board real-time information through media screens. The trains will also be fitted with new energy-saving LED lighting to make them more environmentally friendly.
The trains will be fitted with an upgraded on-Train data recorder that will help predict and diagnose faults and streamline maintenance, which will improve their reliability.
The trains will also be equipped with passenger-counting system, to allow GTR to better analyse how busy trains are, further helping to support social distancing. New forward-facing CCTV cameras will help GTR and Network Rail investigate incidents that have delayed the service that day.
Share on:
