New Class 377 enters service at London Bridge

A new 10-car Bombardier Electrostar trainset has begun operating between London Bridge and West Croydon as the first of a new fleet of 26 trains ordered by operator Southern.

The new Class 377 is the first of 26 new five-car trains purchased by Southern in December 2011 at a cost of £188.8 million.

Announcing the order two years ago, Southern said the new 130 carriages would help ‘augment’ the existing fleet, lengthening trains on the busier routes into Victoria.

The five-car EMUs, which will run as 13 10-car trains, will be laid out in a 2+2 seating configuration.

A further 40 dual-voltage carriages will be delivered from Bombardier in Derby in early 2014.

Southern fleet director Gerry McFadden said: “We signed the contract with Bombardier 641 days ago and set them the challenge to get the first train into passenger service in record time for a build of this size. I’m delighted that we have met this challenge.

“We now move on to introducing more of the new fleet into service in time for our December timetable change, so we can provide longer trains for our passengers on some of our busiest routes.”




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