UK: The first of 30 four-car Class 379 Electrostar electric multiple-units for National Express East Anglia will begin tests at Bombardier Transportation's Derby plant in September, the manufacturer announced on July 21.
The 160 km/h units have been ordered for use on services from London Liverpool Street to Stansted Airport and Cambridge, and will have larger than normal luggage racks for airport traffic as well as 'enhanced' CCTV and onboard wi-fi.
The 25 kV 50 Hz EMUs were ordered in April 2009 when Lloyds TSB entered the train leasing market with a £173m contract which includes three years of maintenance. Bombardier has two production lines running, and expects to deliver the EMUs between March and June next year.
They will be equipped for regenerative braking, and will use Bombardier's Orbita predictive monitoring system to report faults back to the depot.
Bombardier said its Derby plant has now produced more than 2 100 Electrostar cars for the UK and South Africa, and is developing the second generation under the name Aventra, which will be 21% lighter than Electrostar.
