Posted 30th July 2013 | 8 Comments
New order is signed for Derby-built trains
A £180 million contract to procure another 116 electric multiple unit vehicles for Southern was signed with Bombardier on 30 July, after the mandatory 'stand still' period.
The additional trains will be built in Derby. and are being procured by Southern on behalf of the Department for Transport to be used from 2015 on the Thameslink route, so that some of the present fleet can be cascaded to newly-electrified lines elsewhere in the country.
The additional order is necessary mainly because the main Thameslink rolling stock procurement, which has now been signed with Siemens, was delayed by several years. Unless new trains are provided more quickly, the existing Thameslink trains would not be available for cascades until around 2017.
Confirmation of the deal came as the transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin visited Stewarts Lane Depot in Battersea where Southern is currently preparing a new fleet of 130 Bombardier Electrostar vehicles for use on its services from December. A further 40 vehicles are to be delivered early next year.
The transport secretary said: “London’s commuters deserve a first class rail network and comfortable modern trains. Southern is delivering that. This second order will also provide a further boost to the thousands of passengers who travel into London every day.
“A successful rail network is vital for the economic prosperity of the country and its standing in the global race. The fact that these trains are made in Britain also protects jobs outside the capital.”
Southern managing director Chris Burchell added: “We are delighted that the order we have signed today will help our industry grow. Southern has a great record in new train introduction and we are pleased to be able to offer our expertise in helping the Department for Transport deliver the benefits of the Thameslink programme.”
Reader Comments:
Views expressed in submitted comments are that of the author, and not necessarily shared by Railnews.
SHAUN SPENCER-SALLIS, BASINGSTOKE
I also believe there is a case for more 172's to clear the London Midland fleets of it's 150's and 153's and more 350's to enable all the 323's to be allocated to the north where half the fleet already work, very little retraining needed as a great many number of crew sign the trains already and then all the 153s can go back to the 155 formation and be refitted in the same manner as the 156's with Wheelchair toilets etc etc.
and yes i know this is all common sense and will therefore never happen
Tim, Newcastle upon Tyne
@Geoff Steel
You have to remember that these things come in phases. During the '80s and early '90s there was a nearly wholesale replacement of Provincial rolling stock, with the pacer and the sprinter families of units. During this period, many Network South East commuters were still riding around on 50s & 60s built Mk1-based EMUs and DEMUs.
The Mk1 based units weren't fully withdrawn until the mid '00s, some 40 years after their introduction in many cases. As the SE is now running a broadly new fleet, I would not expect any great wholesale stock renewal scheme in the area, perhaps with the exception of the 313 and 315 units which are becoming quite elderly, in the next 10 years.
The spanner in the works is the very large amount of expansion and platform lengthening going on, meaning that new stock is required in the SE to meet the requirements for increased services rather than asset renewal. As some of the schemes require new-build stock to achieve the service intensities / platform edge door requirements, there will necessarily be some replacement of stock that is not life-expired, is not suitable for use locally in the SE, or would not be compatible with the existing fleet in use.
319s to the North West and Great Western is only likely to be a stopgap measure, and remember these units are at least as good as the 150, and IMHO far better than the pacer family, from a passenger point of view. While new-build would be nice, I would far rather get acceptable refurbished trains in the North, without unneccessarily breaking the bank, to ensure the railways (and the country) is being economically prudent for the long-haul.
Jim Campbell, Birmingham
Interesting comment about where teh new trains go, from Geoff in Northampton.
Has he not noticed that his local services are provided by London Midland who have a pretty modern fleet themselves having passed most of the older stock to Northern and Great Western.
Adrian Clements, Waterlooville
What fantastic news.
Great for the team working in Bombardier and great stuff for the Southern Network in maintaining a high level in customer care by providing a top class service
Prestwick, Tonbridge
Again...what was all that whinging about the imminent devestation of anything and everything train industry related in the Derby area about?!
There will always be room for everyone on the Rail industry gravy train so not really sure what all the fuss was about!
Tim, Devon
New trains for everyone, except Penzance-Paddngton
Geoff Steel, Northampton
Yes, it is good news but why does London always get the new build and everyone else gets cascaded stock?
(The LSE sector accounts for roughly two-thirds of all National Rail journeys, and its fares are significantly higher than in, say, the north of England. In any case, new trains are on the way for First TransPennine Express now, while the Electrostars currently being built for Southern as Thameslink stopgaps are destined to be cascaded to the provinces once the 'real' Thameslink fleet is available, from 2016/17. There have been plenty of new trains in Scotland over the past decade [the latest being the 380s] and the Welsh Government is apparently planning to procure new trains for south Wales as well. Then, of course, there is IEP...--Ed.)
Sean Durrant, Denmead
This is great news for Bombardier and also for commuters using the Southern service.