The Wait is Over

It's been a long time coming, a very long time in fact. However the Class 710 Aventra trains have finally entered service on the London Overground Network marking the first introduction of brand new trains on the network since the Class 378s entered service in 2009. 

If you read my previous post on the matter you will be very aware that these new trains are to be introduced on the Gospel Oak to Barking Line initially, being followed closely by an introduction onto the Watford DC Line which will then itself be followed by introduction of them onto the West anglia routes that are operated by London Overground. Although that's getting a bit ahead of ourselves.

A Class 710 train on test at Barking
© EastLondoner

These trains have had their fair share of attention over the past few months. Initially they were meant to be in service a year ago, in May 2018 although they have been under public eye since 2015 when the contract to build the trains was awarded to Bombardier, a Canadian company you'll be very familiar with in London as their products include the Class 378s as well as the London Underground 2009 and S Stock. Many provincial trains were also built by them, including the predecessors on the Gospel Oak to Barking Line which were Class 172s.  However going back to the Class 710s, the building itself of the trains was not the major problem, but more so the software. Long gone now are the days where vehicles would just rely on the engine working, these days heavier reliance is being put on computers to do a lot of the work on them. However this is not just the case with trains but also various other modes of transport including cars which now have driving assistance as well as increasing use on planes - most notably the recent Boeing 737 MAX crash of Ethiopian airlines is said to be the fault of software. Therefore it is important to get the software code right before trains that carry said software are allowed to enter service carrying the general public. 

A Class 710 driver training at Barking
© EastLondoner

Early versions of the software resulted in the Pantograph of the trains randomly retracting mid journey, although this was later sorted out. The new trains had to clock in a certain amount of fault free miles, however should a fault occur the clock is reset and the miles need to be clocked up again. Various software issues meant this happened a few times before the trains were given approval by the office of rail and road (ORR).  As I am typing this the software is believed to be on version 33, however it's still unlikely that this is the final version that we will see of the software seeing as it is reasonable to expect that the software will be updated throughout the span of the train's life.  Soon it was announced that the trains would start public service on Wednesday the 22nd of May in the morning, however unsurprisingly this didn't come to fruition as someone had forgotten to give Arriva Rail London the paperwork relating to the approval of the Class 710 trains for public service, quite lousy that this sort of mistake would take place after all the effort that was put into preparing these for public service. 

However thankfully this didn't result in a huge delay and the trains finally entered service on the 22nd of May 2019 initially with two service, a year later than schedules but better late than never - and it certainly seems to have been worth the wait. The introduction of the trains took place in the middle of the day, probably for the better so that if there was any failure they could be removed from service and any delays could be cleared before the evening peak. Being local to the line it didn't take me much travelling to meet the first one just as it completed its first trip from Gospel Oak. 

The first Class 710 sits at Barking after arriving, this was 710261
© EastLondoner

No surprise many people from across the rail enthusiast community were there to see the train, alongside some unsuspecting commuters. Members of c2c staff also got on to explore the new train but managing to jump off before it left for Gospel Oak. The most obvious feature after getting on the train was the effectiveness of the air conditioning on it, I had a short sleeve shirt on but had to put on my fleece soon into the journey because of how cold it was. The interior was very bright, probably helped by the presence of London Overground orange throughout the carriages. 

The interior of the Class 710

© EastLondoner

The tip up seats on the end
© EastLondoner

More about the interior, it is fully longitudinal much like the 378s which were on the line for a few months before the Class 710s started entering service however completely the opposite to the Class 172 trains which were the mainstay of the line prior to them moving up North. Their use is controversial, many people don't like staring right at another commuter through their journey and find it uncomfortable travelling sideways for long periods of time. However it's probably safe to say that longitudinal seating will certainly be most welcome on this line, they allow for a higher capacity even if this means that most of the passengers will be standing through the journey, after all the point of a rail journey is to get you from A to B....or is it?  Towards each end of the train tip up seats can be found to cater for buggies and wheelchairs as can be seen in the picture above. 

USB charging point
© EastLondoner

Something which I'm sure will also be welcome for many travellers is the inclusion of USB charging points throughout the train, these days we are becoming increasingly reliant on our phones for activities ranging from paying for purchases with them to even using them as our ticket for the journey. Therefore it's important to keep your phone filled with battery throughout the day. These USB charging points are found at the end of each carriage and are only really accessible if you are standing by them or sitting by the one seat next to them. However I guess it's nothing to complain about if it means being able to charge your phone! I made use of the feature myself during my return journey, it will probably not match the fast charging capable chargers that many phones come with these days be warned!

Another important aspect of many trains these days is the announcer system of the trains, the type found on the Class 710s is pretty much identical to that found on the Class 345s that are due to operate on the Elizabeth Line. It could be said that they were pretty straight to the point, this shows an example where TfL is trying to provide their passengers with only the necessary information. This will be welcomed by some I'm sure, it's not always pleasant to have every single announcement bombarded at you while you are just trying to relax on the train however on the flip side it does sound much more robotic when you are just hearing the bare necessities of information. As it's not easy to get an example across through a photo I have included a video below.

A Class 710 train at Upper Holloway
© EastLondoner

There was certainly a lot to take in throughout the course of this journey. Upon arrival at Gospel Oak I still hadn't finished exploring the whole train. I took the train back to Upper Holloway where I could grab some lunch at Archway before heading back to pick up the second Class 710 which was in service on the line. The second service was running half an hour behind the first one, meaning most of the line had an every 15 minute service today except for one 30 minute gap in the service. Still not perfect compared to what the Class 172s used to provide but at least the service is already showing signs of recovery. This journey had much less enthusiasts on it, therefore I had the opportunity to explore the train which has a much lighter crowd on it. 

The first Class 710 after its first rounder
© EastLondoner

One thing that I had missed was the fact that more LCD screens were present along the sides of the train along with the customer information ones through the middle. For now these were just displaying messages letting passengers know about the new features that the train comes with such as USB charging points as well as interior dynamic lighting. 

An example of an LCD screen along the side
© EastLondoner

© EastLondoner

Over time I'm not too sure what they will be used for, however I imagine it won't be too long until we find out. Upon disembarking back at Barking I paid more attention to the exterior of the train. Like most modern trains these ones also have side mounted LED displays which display the destination of the train as well as the next station. However unlike the Class 345's ones which are to be used on the Elizabeth Line they do not seem to display the head code, probably because it's not something that the average passenger will take notice of. The above picture is an example of what will usually be displayed while the service is at the station. 

A Class 710 heads back to Gospel Oak
© EastLondoner

After a year of delays and set backs we have finally got these new trains in service, personally I'd say it was certainly worth the wait. Apart from the excessive air conditioning the trains were wonderful to ride on as a passenger, certainly one of the nicest rides on a train you can get in London. These Class 710s will also soon start service on the Watford DC line between Watford Junction and Euston in the coming months and hopefully on the lines out of Liverpool Street by the end of the year.

Similar trains, coded Class 720s will be then introduced into service on Greater Anglia. These trains will be more designed for intercity work and will feature toilets and transverse seating throughout. The future for the Overground is looking positive, months of suffering from commuters from reduced services and long term closures is finally starting to pay off.