Portal:Trains/Selected article/Week 26, 2018

The British Rail Class 700 is an electric multiple-unit passenger train built between 2014 and 2018 for Thameslink as part of the Thameslink Programme in the United Kingdom. A fleet of 60 eight-car and 55 twelve-car trains have entered service between Spring 2016 and 2018. Maintenance depots have been built at Hornsey and Three Bridges. The first train was delivered in late July 2015. In 2011, the consortium Cross London Trains (XLT) consisting of Siemens Project Ventures, 3i Infrastructure and Innisfree was announced as preferred bidder with Siemens to manufacture the trains. The decision was politically controversial as the trains were to be built in Germany, while the competing consortium led by Bombardier Transportation had a train factory in the UK. Both the procurement process and final close of contract were significantly delayed, resulting in the expected first delivery date moving from 2012 to 2016. The £1.6 billion contract to manufacture and provide service depots for the trains was finalised in June 2013. The first unit, 700108, was introduced on 20 June 2016. Following the withdrawal of Class 319s, Class 700s operate on all routes across the Thameslink network.

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