Press release -
GTR completes first tranche of Southern fleet modernisation
Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) has completed a comprehensive modernisation programme for Southern Railway's 75 “Class 377/4” trains. New features include passenger priorities such as information screens and at-seat charging and power points, as well as high-tech engineering features designed to streamline maintenance and improve reliability.
The 75 trains represent a key milestone in a five-year, £55 million programme funded by the trains’ owner Porterbrook, the Rolling Stock Leasing Company (ROSCO) from whom GTR leases the trains. Porterbrook’s investment in the programme could rise to £100 million with further upgrade elements being considered.
The train operator and ROSCO are “levelling up” a total of 270 trains - the UK’s biggest fleet of ‘Electrostars’ - to the same standards of modern passenger facilities and technical equipment. The 377/4s are the largest "sub-class" in the fleet, and at 18 years are among the oldest.
The Electrostar is the most common type of electric-powered train built since rail privatisation in the 1990s. The Derby-built, Alstom air-conditioned trains have been very successful and GTR’s Electrostars have been in service for up to 21 years. The oldest have run over 2.4 million miles in service.
GTR’s own engineering team is carrying out the upgrade programme at its Selhurst depot in South London, using technical processes designed by Alstom. Beside the new power sockets and information screens, enhancements include energy-saving LED lighting and passenger-counting technology. Passenger priorities were identified in research led by Transport Focus and funded by Porterbrook.
GTR’s engineers have now begun the same package of improvements for the slightly older 377/1 trains. There are 62 of these, also in service on Southern routes.
The upgrade programme will include all 214 of Southern’s 377s, ranging in age from eight to 21 years, and 56 six-to-eight-year-old Class 387s, currently working on Great Northern and Gatwick Express routes. Porterbrook’s investment in the programme could rise to £100 million with further upgrade elements being considered.
As well as better meeting passengers’ expectations for on-board facilities, bringing every train up to the same modern standards, with common features across the whole fleet, allows GTR’s engineers to streamline routine maintenance and repairs. That keeps each Electrostar out in service for longer, reducing delays and cancellations. To accelerate maintenance and improve reliability still further, a new “smart” On-Train Data Recorder helps predict and diagnose faults, which means that some problems can be fixed without returning to the depot. New forward-facing CCTV cameras will film the track in front of the train to help analyse incidents that delay the service.
GTR’s Engineering Director Steve Lammin said: “These Electrostars are great trains. Taking on board our passengers’ feedback, this comprehensive upgrade will provide an even better on-board experience and more reliability. With collaboration from Alstom and Porterbrook, our team at Selhurst Depot has developed and streamlined a process of stripping out a train’s seats, interior panels and old wiring, installing all the new features, refitting seats and panels, testing and returning to service, at a rate of just one week per train. Well over a quarter of the fleet has now been through the programme, and more and more passengers will notice the benefits over the coming years.
“I’m really pleased that GTR is working with Porterbrook and Alstom to build a better railway for our customers.”
Ben Ackroyd, Chief Operating Officer at Porterbrook said: “Porterbrook’s £100m investment programme to upgrade the Electrostar fleet, operated by GTR, highlights our commitment to providing an improved passenger experience with better information displays, more access to plug sockets and efficient LED lighting. The installation of Automated Passenger Counting now provides insight into real time demand on service.
“From an infrastructure perspective, Forward-Facing CCTV and enhanced GPS feeds enable remote monitoring of track conditions. This can help deliver improved network performance and reliability by reducing the need for dedicated track inspection vehicles and allows rail staff to assess conditions flexibly.”
Peter Broadley, Managing Director of Services at Alstom UK & Ireland said: “It is great to see the Electrostars get a new lease of life, fit for purpose for the next phase of their operations. Working closely with our partners at GTR and Porterbrook we have created a great product which significantly enhances the customer experience across the GTR network. I’m looking forward to successfully completing the project in a little over two years from now.”
Ends
Notes to editors
GTR Electrostar fleet
The majority of GTR’s Electrostars (214 of the 270) are ‘Class 377s’, between 8 and 21 years old, which provide suburban and commuter services on the Southern network between London, Surrey, Sussex and the south coast. GTR will also upgrade the 56 ‘Class 387s’ (six to eight years old) on Great Northern and Gatwick Express routes to bring all its Electrostars up to the same standards, extending their longevity by ensuring that they meet today's passenger expectations.
Type | Network | Built | Quantity | Total Carriages |
Class 377/1 | Southern | 2002-3 | 62 x 4-car units | 248 |
Class 377/2 | Southern | 2003-4 | 15 x 4-car units | 60 |
Class 377/3 | Southern | 2001-2 | 28 x 3-car units | 84 |
Class 377/4 | Southern | 2004-5 | 75 x 4-car units | 300 |
Class 377/6 | Southern | 2012-13 | 26 x 5-car units | 130 |
Class 377/7 | Southern | 2014 | 8 x 5-car units | 40 |
Class 387/1 | Great Northern | 2014-15 | 29 x 4-car units | 116 |
Class 387/2 | Gatwick Express | 2015-16 | 27 x 4-car units | 108 |
Totals | 270 | 1,086 |
Enhancements
For the older 377s (377/1 to 377/4) the "levelling up" involves installation of:
- power and charging points at seats
- passenger information system upgrade and media screens
- LED interior lighting
- passenger-counting system
- forward-facing CCTV to monitor/record track condition
- on-train data recording system for remote fault diagnosis
- new train data network (ethernet)
The table below details the improvement package for each class and sub-class.
Enhancement / Modification | |||||||
Type | LED lighting | Seat sockets | Forward-facing CCTV | Info screen upgrade | On-train Diagnostic Recorder | Automatic Passenger Counting | Train Data Network |
377/1 | Yes | Power/USB | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Reconfiguration; new switches |
377/2 | Yes | Power/USB | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Reconfiguration; new switches |
377/3 | Yes | Power/USB | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Reconfiguration; new switches |
377/4 | Yes | Power/USB | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Reconfiguration; new switches |
377/6 | Yes | USB | Already fitted | Yes | Upgrade | Yes | New dual backbone |
377/7 | Yes | USB | Already fitted | Yes | Upgrade | Yes | New dual backbone |
387/1 | Yes | USB | Already fitted | Yes | Upgrade | Yes | New dual backbone |
387/2 | Yes | USB | Already fitted | Yes | Upgrade | Yes | New dual backbone |
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Govia Thameslink Railway
Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) operates Thameslink, Great Northern, Southern and Gatwick Express services as follows:
- Thameslink – cross-London services between Bedford/Peterborough/Cambridge and Brighton/Horsham/Littlehampton/East Grinstead, and between Luton/St Albans and Sutton/Wimbledon/Rainham; plus services between London and Sevenoaks
- Great Northern – services between London and Welwyn, Hertford, Peterborough, Cambridge and King’s Lynn
- Southern – services between London and the Sussex coast (Brighton, Worthing, Eastbourne, Bognor Regis, Hastings) and parts of Surrey, Kent and Hampshire (Ashford International, Southampton, Portsmouth)
- Gatwick Express – fast, non-stop direct services between Gatwick Airport and London Victoria
www.southernrailway.com, www.thameslinkrailway.com, www.gatwickexpress.com, www.greatnorthernrail.com