We've sealed the deal on an innovative electrification train

We’ve just ordered a unique train which will revolutionise how railway lines are electrified.

The 23-vehicle train will provide a complete electrification service as it moves along sections of track, completing everything from foundations and stanchions to installing and testing the overhead line equipment.

Great Western route first to benefit

The system has been under development for the last three years and will make its debut on the Great Western main line in autumn 2013. More than £750m will be invested in the route, the largest amount since it was built, providing a more reliable service with more seats and better station facilities.

The special train will work overnight at a significantly higher rate of construction than previously possible, electrifying an average of 1.6km of track per night. It will also allow the adjacent line to remain open, minimising disruption as well as reducing the overall time needed for the work.

Costing around £35m, the train is part of our continued investment to deliver a better, safer and more reliable railway. Windhoff Bahn- und Anlagentechnik GmbH, a supplier of specialist rail maintenance and improvement equipment, will custom build the train to a design that meets the performance specification developed by our engineers.

Innovation in action

Simon Kirby, our managing director for investment projects, said: “Electrification provides a faster, more reliable, greener and economic railway and is a key part of our plans to improve the network. The electrification train is an innovative piece of equipment which will deliver benefits to millions of passengers across the country.”

Robbie Burns, our major programme director, said: “This new train will allow Network Rail to electrify routes more quickly and economically while minimising as much as possible any disruption to passengers. The electrification train, which has been designed and developed by Network Rail, is revolutionary and will allow us to continue to transform the railway.”