82 Modern Railways April 2019 http://www.modern-railways.com
Moving Wheels
‘710’ DRIVER TRAINING BEGINS
GOBLIN GOES HALF-HOURLY WITH ‘378s’
INITIAL DRIVER familiarisation
has begun with the new Bombardier
Class 710 EMUs for London
Overground, but a date for entry
into passenger service has yet to
be confirmed.
Transport for London has ordered
48x4-car and 6x5-car Aventras from
Bombardier, but the fleet has been
delayed by issues with software
development. The first daytime
driver training run on the Gospel
Oak to Barking line (GOBLIN) took
place on 28 February. Bombardierwas targeting Office of Rail and
Road approval for the ‘710s’ to carry
passengers as this issue went to press.
The company told Modern Railways
45 of the 54 trains had been built.
TfL has drafted in three shortened
four-car Class 378 EMUs to operate on
the GOBLIN until the new trains are
ready, with the first of these entering
service on 28 January. The line’s fleet
of two-car Class 172 DMUs has been
progressively withdrawn for transfer
to West Midlands Trains, with TfL
having already extended the lease onthe ‘172s’ twice, and from 18 March
the service on the line was due to be
reduced to half-hourly using the three
‘378s’ operating three diagrams as
the last three diesels were withdrawn.
TfL says the ‘378s’ are longer than
the ‘172s’ they replace, maintaining
overall capacity despite the reduced
frequency. Supplementary buses will
also be provided, but reductions in
services at weekends are expected.
The GOBLIN will be the first route
to be served by Class 710s once they
are introduced. It will be followed byWatford to Euston services, enabling
Class 378s to be cascaded to provide
improved frequencies on the North
London line. Thirty-one ‘710s’ will then
be introduced on the West Anglia
routes out of Liverpool Street, replacing
the current Class 315 and 317 EMUs.
The original order was for 45 four-car
‘710s’, with TfL having subsequently
added a further 3x4-car and 5x5-car
units to release further Class 378s to the
East London line to enable a frequency
increase as well as supporting
extension of GOBLIN services over
the extension to Barking Riverside,
which is due to open in late 2021.GREEN LIGHT FOR NORTHERN ‘331s’
LEEDS – DONCASTER TIPPED AS FIRST ROUTE
FORMAL AUTHORISATION
for Northern to use its new CAF
Class 331 EMUs in passenger
service was received on
22 February. The approval
applies to the 31 three-car sets
(Nos 331001-031) and 12 four-car
units (Nos 331101-112).
The authorisation from the
Office of Rail and Road comes with
a requirement on the operator
to demonstrate arrangements
for controlling Platform Train
Interface risks at all stations wherethe units will operate prior to
entry into passenger service.
Northern has confirmed
that it is now working to begin
driver and guard training as
soon as possible with a gradual
introduction into passenger service
to follow. The first use of the ‘331s’
is expected to see two diagrams
covered on the service between
Leeds and Doncaster from the
timetable change on 19 May.
In addition to the 43 EMUs,
Northern has 58 Class 195 DMUs on
order from CAF, which are also due to
enter service this spring. Tony MilesDriver training underway: No 710263 on the 3Z03 11.15 Willesden
Junction to Barking Upney Junction working at Walthamstow
Wetlands, Blackhorse Road on 6 March 2019. Jamie SquibbsCAF EMU: Northern’s No 331001 at Edge Hill, as seen from
a passing train on 10 August 2018. Philip Sherratt082-083_MR_Apr 2019_moving wheels.indd 82 12/03/2019 16:15