Extra seats and longer, more spacious trains will be provided for passengers travelling on the Thameslink route, the minister of transport announced today.
Companies have been asked to provide tenders to build a new fleet of Thameslink trains, which will provide an extra 14,500 seats for passengers travelling in Southeast England.
The new contract will allow older trains to be replaced and bring around 400 additional carriages into service, significantly boosting capacity. Meanwhile, trains will be longer and designed to maximise passenger comfort.
Four firms are being invited to tender: Alstom, Bombardier, Hitachi and Siemens. Bids will be formally submitted in April 2009 with the contract being awarded in March 2010. It is intended that the first trains will be available for testing in autumn 2011, with the first trains coming into service by during 2012.
UK Transport minister Andrew Adonis said that the tender forms a vital part of the ВЈ5.5bn plan to significantly increase capacity through central London on the First Capital Connect service between Brighton, Bedford and other destinations which will become part of the network in 2015.
"This tender is for 1,200 new Thameslink carriages, including around 400 additional carriages on top of those being replaced," Adonis said.
He added that "when the trains start to arrive in 2012, passengers will see many peak time trains lengthened by 50%, from eight to 12 carriages.
"The modern design of the new carriage is more spacious than existing ones. They are also more energy efficient and environmentally friendly and their lightweight design will reduce wear and tear on the lines, reducing maintenance costs."
The new Thameslink trains will operate through the central London core route between St Pancras International and Blackfriars, providing inner and outer urban services to destinations to the north of London on the Midland and East Coast Main Lines, and via London Bridge and Elephant and Castle to destinations to the south of London on the Brighton Main Line, and other routes in Kent, Surrey and Sussex.
By Daniel Garrun.
