Class 387/1 techincal details

The first technical details of the new Class 387 fleet have been revealed. The 29 dual voltage 110mph capable units are formed in four car units and include some of the recent upgrades to the Electrostar model such as forward facing and pantograph cameras, plug sockets at each seat pairing as well as real time CIS and CCTV equipment. The trains will also have six powered axels per train.

The units will be wifi ready, 2+2 seating only, and in the ‘transitional branding’ (likely the interim TSGN livery) with ‘metro-density ready’ grab rail. AC and DC regenerative braking, driver advisory system (DAS) and the now standard selective door and unit opening systems (SDO). The key parts of the 387 fleet are expected to have a 35 year life span.

The units will be formed as such:

DMOS A
60 seats (7 tables)
22 seats in area that passive provision for First Class (area by the right door)

MOSL
62 seats (6 tables)
1 standard toilet

PTOSL
44 seats (7 tables)
2 wheelchair spaces
1 Wheelchair accessible toilet

DMOS B
60 seats (6 tables)

All 29 units are planned to be ready for passenger service before Southern merges with the new TSGN franchise. Here is the current provisional acceptance (entry into service) of the class 387/1 fleet;

Southern will continue to work with Bombardier on the build support (reviews of the design) right the way up to September this year (likely in relation to the start date of TSGN the same month). The arrival of the 387/1 fleet also means Southern drivers requiring to learn the Atlantic Lines for which Southern is required to recruit more drivers which is already on going and will continue on until August.

The requirement of Bombardier to get the fleet to operate at 40,000 MTIN with financial penalties if the fleet does not achieve this. Currently the Bombardier ‘built’ 357 and 375 (/8 & /9 subclasses only) achieve this. Bombardier is aiming high with its latest version of the Electrostar fleet, but with the Thameslink Core requirements needing high levels of reliability. Of Bombardier’ dual voltage fleets the 377/5 fleet has a MTIN of 21,322 (meaning the new fleet will have to be about twice as reliable), the 378/2 achieves 13,813 MTIN. The 377/2 fleet is mixed in with the rest of the 377 and achieves 33,492. Bombardier AC only 379, which the 387 body shell is based on, achieves 37,544. Time will tell if they can achieve this.

Class 700 Timeline

With the Class 700 mock up revealed last week we got some more information of the introduction of the fleet. So far we know the following:

January 2014
• Mock up displayed to public
• First built carriages go to Vienna for climate testing

March 2014
• First Class 700 on the test track at Wildenrath

July 2015
• Siemens Thameslink Three Bridges depot completed

August 2015
• First Class 700 arrives in the UK, sent to Three Bridges Depot. Testing starts with overnight runs between Brighton and Bedford.

18th December 2015
• First Class 700 planned to be handed over to the TSGN franchise

Q1 2016
• First Class 700 in services on Bedford to Brighton duties

July 2016
• Siemens Thameslink Hornsey depot completed

Q1 2017
• First Class 700 in service on GN routes

January 2018
• Class 700 work to Maidstone East

May 2018 (at the latest)
• 95% of Thameslink peak service operated by Class 700
• Thameslink Core operates 20tph in peak

December 2018
• All Thameslink service operated by Class 700
• Class 700 ATO active in passenger service in Thameslink Core

Additional 377/2 units for Thameslink

As part of Southern’s franchise, 3x 377/2 were transferred to First Capital Connect for the December 2011 timetable change.  377207/211/212 were put into the FCC livery and now operate a single return peak round trip (07:48 Bedford – Brighton and 16:04 Brighton – Bedford)  a day, allowing more 12 car 377 services.

As part of Southern’s deal with the DfT to allow it to order the eight 377/7 units, six additional 377/2 will transfer to Thameslink duties in time for the May 2014 timetable change. The units have now been announced as being 377208/209/210/213/214/215. This will leave Southern with a total of six 377/2 units (377201-206) however there will only be two required for daily service.

Here is one of the said units at Victoria in its current Southern livery.

 

377210 at Victoria, a photo by Sparkyscrum on Flickr.

South West Trains in the market for more EMU’s.

South West Trains have started the ball rolling on acquiring between 135 and 250 EMU vehicles. The idea is for 10 car peak services on the routes now having their platforms extended. Unusually they are looking for units of 3-5 carriages long with the first expected in service in July 2016 and the remaining trains all in service by July 2017. The valve of the contract is between £135-425m with a two year maintenance support package included.

 

Pervious discussions over the order did look at 200 carriages formed into 40 five car trains. This order could actually be a fair size bigger with Siemens and its Desiro Cities favourite to win the order. However in most month in Rail (issue 726), Christian Roth, SWT Engineering Director did suggest

 

That as well as a Siemens offering, Class 377 or 378s from Bombardier or another manufacturer’s train would be considered.

 

That said he did tease about having Southern’s 455 fleet once Thameslink “is running” (assume he means the KO2 timetable as Thameslink’s been running 25 years now). He did go on to say

 

That the new trains would be fitted with high-density interiors, and that new trains would be needed on the metro lines. They are not designed as a replacement for existing fleets.

 

The ordering of these additional units is in part possible to the retractioning of SWT’s 455 fleet with AC traction rather than DC. This will allow maintenance to be reduced and free up the sheds at Wimbledon to handle more rolling stock.

 

Siemens have shown off a picture of one of their new Desiro Cities in SWT livery, what could be the first Desiro in ‘metro red’ variant of their livery.

 

 

If the units are built by Siemens, the first will arrive in service only a few months after the first class 700 Desiro Cities for Thameslink. As Siemens recently back out of the Crossrail bid as they couldn’t supply both Thameslink and Crossrail trains at the same time, concerns have been expressed on if they can deliver an additional 250 units alongside the 1,140 Thameslink units. But by the time the first of SWT’s new units is expected to be in service the first class 700 train will have been running around for over two years meaning the class will not only have had major shake down tests but also cleared for UK running around a year before first delivery.

 

Delivery profiles of both the Thameslink units and SWT are around one new unit a week which may sound like a lot but production of the first Thameslink unit started in July 2013 with first unit delivery in December 2015, that’s 29 months. The entire 377/6 five car fleet of 140 carriages from Bombardier are taking 24 months to build so you can that there is space for the SWT order with Thameslink but there was never space for the 600 for Crossrail. Although originally it was expected Crossrail delivery schedule would have neatly followed on from Thameslink.