Class 700 plug sockets and seat back tables

[387star]

Will the rest of the fleet be retrofitted?

Much older 377s are having plug sockets installed...

 

[JonathanH]

Will the rest of the fleet be retrofitted?

Much older 377s are having plug sockets installed...

No.

Yes but that doesn't dictate what happens with the 700s. Presumably it would be an option at a future overhaul but that could be a while coming.

Aren't the 700s leased on quite a tight contract basis (eg Siemens supply units for service) relative to the contract for the 377s which leased in a more conventional way and are maintained directly by Southern?

Cross London Trains ('XLT') is a company established to procure and lease the rolling stock for use on the Thameslink passenger rail franchise.

3i Infrastructure invested £61.8 million in XLT in June 2013, alongside Innisfree PFI Secondary Fund 2 LP and Siemens Project Ventures. XLT was set up to finance and purchase 115 Desiro City Class 700 trains from Siemens plc and lease them to the Operator of the Thameslink rail franchise, currently Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR).

The Class 700 trains are amongst the most modern and most efficient trains in the UK. Their new generation software enabled design gives the ability to intelligently monitor maintenance, improving reliability. Automatic train operation technology will allow them to run 24 trains per hour, in both directions, through the London core.

In March 2019, 3i Infrastructure sold its 33.3% stake in XLT to a consortium of Dalmore and Equitix funds generating proceeds of c. £333 million.

The services to be provided by Eversholt Rail, under the 22 year agreement, will include project management during the build and delivery of the rolling stock and then long–term asset management, including both technical and commercial support to Cross London Trains.

The pace at which plug sockets are going into 377s doesn't seem very quick but it is happening at the time of a scheduled overhaul. The 700s aren't due for that yet.