SWR plans early summer debut for delayed Arterios

摘要

RAIL Minister Chris Heaton-Harris confirmed on January 21 that the first South Western Railway Class 701 Arterios are now expected to be in traffic from early summer, although even that depends upon testing and no more COVID-related problems.SWR has 90 Class 701 electric multiple units on order from Bombardier (60 ten-car and 30 five-car trains), with the first originally planned to have entered traffic in late 2019.But by mid-January, fewer than half of the 701s' had been built by Bombardier at Derby Litchurch Lane.In a Commons Written Reply to Shadow Transport Minister Tan Dhesi, Heaton-Harris said: "The first of the new Class 701 trains is expected to be in passenger service from early summer this year, with the full fleet to be deployed in passenger service over the following 12 months, enabling the cascade of the current fleets out of South Western Railway on a like-for-like basis as the new trains enter passenger service.