Ten new Elizabeth line trains ordered by Transport for London
An order for an additional ten Elizabeth line trains have been confirmed tonight by manufacturer Alstom.
The deal will see central government fund £220.5m out of a total order worth £370 million.
A total of 70 trains are currently in operation with the order taking overall numbers up to 80.
Cuts to HS2 announced by government over the past year will mean services curtailed to Old Oak Common with onward travel into central London requiring the Elizabeth line.
Old Oak Common in west London is set to be a major interchange with a new Elizabeth line and HS2 station.
Cutting the stretch to Euston ensures thousands of people arriving off HS2 services and placing enormous stress on existing Elizabeth line capacity hence the need for a new order. It’s a great example of cuts in one place leading to higher costs elsewhere.
Services
How the additional stock is operated remains to be seen and whether extra services would run on the Abbey Wood and/or Shenfield branches – and at what level to each. The Class 345 order will be nine-cars in length as are current trains.
It’s a lifeline to the Alstom factory in Derby which is at threat of closure. Ten trains however won’t keep them going for long.
Future orders could come from new trains replacing Networkers on Southeastern with a tender currently out – but with no confirmed order. That’s for the next government to decide.
The extra trains for the Elizabeth Line will be welcomed and more importantly needed to cope with the extra demand
A new HS2/Elizabeth Line Station serving as a interchange for both services will also be welcomed to make transferring between services easier.
I guarantee you that these 10 new Class 345 trains will be numbered as
345071
345072
345073
345074
345075
345076
345077
345078
345079
345080
Also Elizabeth Line should run most of their Class 345s from Shenfield to Reading instead of terminating at Paddington.
@ Andrew Gwilt I agree with you 100%. The 345’s should continue on to Reading from Shenfield rather than terminating at Paddington. That is why I supported the Elizabeth Line going as far as Reading when the Government/TFL were having consultations and sending out questionnaires in the early days of Crossrail planning. I supported having the Elizabeth Line Station at Woolwich. So I hope TFL do not start cutting more services back to Paddington.
Would the Elizabeth Line expand more trains to Reading from Shenfield with 10 more Class 345s to be built adding the total of Class 345 9-Car units from 70 to 80 9-Car trains on the Elizabeth Line.
It would be nice to see more Elizabeth Line running to Reading from Shenfield instead of terminating them at Paddington.