The UK’s largest rail project, Crossrail, will feature trains that are fully wheelchair-accessible, air-conditioned and wi-fi enabled, London mayor Boris Johnson said.
The trains, which are being built by Bombardier Transportation’s UK factory in Derby, will have space for 1,500 customers in nine walk-through carriages. Each will be more than 200 metres long.
They will also regenerate electricity back into the network when braking, meaning they will use 30% less energy.
Revealing the trains’ design today, Mr Johnson said: “I am delighted that these British-built trains have been designed with customers at their heart, with on-board facilities that are fit for a truly 21st-century rail link.”
Crossrail, running from Reading in Berkshire in the west to Shenfield in Essex in the east, is due to be fully open in 2019 and will carry 200 million customers each year.
The new trains will be in service from May 2017 and call at five stations in Newham – Stratford, Maryland, Forest Gate and Manor Park on the Shenfield branch, as well as Custom House on a new route to Abbey Wood.
Crossrail will add 10% capacity to London’s rail network, easing pressure from the city’s growing population which is expected to rise from 8.6 million to 10 million by 2030.
The £14.8 billion cross-London project, which includes 26 miles of tunnelling through central London, has been hailed by Prime Minister David Cameron as “an engineering triumph”.
Mr Johnson said: “The spacious layout and longer trains will provide a significant boost to London’s rail capacity, meaning better journeys for passengers, and transforming the way people travel between east and west.”
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