BRAINTREE SHUTTLE PROPOSED IN TIMETABLE RECAST
GREATER ANGLIA’S new suburban fleet has entered service, with the first Class 720 EMU carrying passengers on the Southend Victoria line on 26 November. The operator has also launched a consultation on plans for a timetable recast on the Great Eastern main line in December 2021.
GA has ordered 133x5-car Class 720s from Bombardier, financed by Angel Trains, which will work on its suburban services. Nos 720515/517 worked the first passenger service, the 16.10 Southend Victoria to Liverpool Street on 26 November, followed by the 17.25 return. A pair of units continued to be deployed into December.
Facilities on the new trains include USB and plug points, free Wi-Fi, air conditioning, better passenger information screens, improved accessibility features and dedicated cycle spaces. The original order comprised a mixture of five-car and
10-car sets, but in September 2020 it was confirmed this had been amended to an all five-car fleet.
After the Southend Victoria line, it is expected the ‘720s’ will be introduced on other Great Eastern routes through 2021, replacing Class 321 and 360 EMUs. The latter were all due to transfer to East Midlands Railway to operate St P…
