New Arterio train named after Stuart Broad in London

Picture of Michael Holden

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New Arterio train named after Stuart Broad in London

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Picture of Michael Holden

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701031 at London Waterloo
701031 at London Waterloo // Credit: RailAdvent

South Western Railway invited RailAdvent to Waterloo today (28th November) to see the new Arterio trains officially launched and one of the new trains named.

90 Arterio trains are part of a £1 billion investment to bring more capacity to trains on the , and South West London Suburban routes.

5 Arterios are currently in service, but South Western Railway has today announced that the new trains will serve destinations such as Dorking, Guildford and Reading over the next six months.

Alstom has built the trains at their Derby site and will replace the outgoing older trains, including the Class 455, 456, 458 and 707 trains.

The fleet is made up of 60 ten-car trains and 30 five-car trains, and the rollout of the new trains is expected to take up to 2 years.

Arterios at London Waterloo
Arterios at London Waterloo // Credit: RailAdvent

The new trains have cycle racks, charging points, WiFi, accessible toilets and air conditioning.

There is plenty of space for luggage in the overhead racks, which are deep enough for suitcases and bags.

Accessible toilets
Accessible toilets // Credit: RailAdvent

We were invited on board the new train to take a look, and the bright interior is boosted by big windows and 2×2 seating.

It is always excellent to see these Aventra class of trains, where you can see down through the carriages due to the wide corridors.

View down the train
View down the train // Credit: RailAdvent

Unfortunately, none of the seats perfectly align with the windows.

While disappointing, it does mean that wheelchair users get plenty of space with a plug socket and USBs, and there are also plenty of spaces for bikes.

Big tables don’t feature, but each bay has a small table to put your coffee mug down, but not somewhere to put your laptop, for example.

Seats and mini tables in the Arterio trains
Seats and mini tables in the Arterio trains // Credit: RailAdvent

The toilets are large, making them easily accessible for everyone, and all toilets feature Controlled Emissions Toilets, which is better for the environment.

We were also invited into the cab of the train. The cab features lots of screens to show speed, AWS, as well as any warnings that the driver needs to be aware of.

There is also a screen dedicated to the 11 cameras on a 10 car set, showing the driver the view of the platform before they close the doors.

Whilst at first glance, the cab looks rather small, once in the seat, everything is easy to access, and it actually feels rather spacious.

In the cab of a Class 701
In the cab of a Class 701 // Credit: RailAdvent

Rail Minister Lord Hendy was joined by Managing Director Stuart Meek and English Cricketing Legend Stuart Broad.

Stuart unveiled the nameplate for 701031, which is named ‘Nighthawk’.

Stuart explains that Nighthawk is a nickname given to him by his teammates and is because of his role as a nightwatchman in the game of cricket.

Nameplates for 701031 Nighthawk
Nameplates for 701031 Nighthawk // Credit: RailAdvent

701031 will be joined by four other Arterios, which will be named to celebrate the local area’s sporting history.

South Western Railway has also named trains The Jockey for horseracing destinations, The Red Rose for English at Twickenham, The Aces for and The Thames Racer in honour of the boat race.

It was soon time to end our visit to London Waterloo, but a big thank you to South Western Railway for inviting us to the launch of their brand new train fleet

Here is what Stuart Broad had to say:

“I’m honoured to join South Western Railway today and name one of their new Arterio trains Nighthawk, a role I had great fun playing for England.

“One of the highlights of my career was taking the final wicket in my last Test match, against Australia at the Oval, one of my favourite places to play. The atmosphere is always incredible and starts long before the first ball of the day is bowled, as fans make their way from Vauxhall down to the ground.

“Trains play a huge role in bringing sports fans to the heart of the action they love, building excitement as they make their way to the big game. It’s exciting to think of the Nighthawk journeying across London, connecting even more fans to iconic sporting destinations that bring us all together.”

Stuart Broad

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  1. South Western Railway should just start introducing the rest of the Class 701 Arterio fleet including using them on Chessington South, Reading, Guildford, Woking, Dorking, Hampton Court, Weybridge and the Southwest London orbital services via Strawberry Hill, Hounslow, Chertsey and Richmond. Since the new trains started operating on the Shepperton and Windsor & Eton Riverside routes earlier this year.

  2. I would like to see the rest of the Class 701 Arterio fleet in service so that South Western Railway can start removing the Class 455 and to see them scrapped with a Class 455 farewell tour next year.

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