Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-05-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he expects the first Thameslink Class 700 train to enter revenue-earning service.

Claire Perry

The new Class 700 Thameslink trains built by Siemens will first enter service on the Brighton to Bedford route. It is important that when the trains are introduced that they operate reliably on these heavily used sections of the rail network. It is to this end that the trains are currently undergoing extensive testing on the Thameslink routes. They are also being used for driver training by Govia Thameslink Railway Ltd and operational testing of new infrastructure at stations on the Thameslink routes. This phase of testing is nearing completion and the trains are expected to enter passenger service in due course.