Bombardier Transportation will build the fleet of air-conditioned, walkthrough trains which will enter service in 2018.
They’ll run on routes between Liverpool Street, Enfield Town, Cheshunt and Chingford routes, which became part of the London Overground network on May 31st, as well as on routes between Barking and Gospel Oak and between Romford and Upminster.
Mike Brown MVO, Managing Director of London Rail, said: “These 45 new trains will significantly improve the comfort, reliability and overall quality of train services for our customers.”
Many passengers have seen their fares cut since Transport for London took over responsibility for the routes, and London Overground contractor LOROL and TfL are currently carrying out a ‘deep clean’ of stations which are now fully staffed during opening hours.
However passengers on the new routes have experienced a series of cancellations and delays which TfL says are due to the poor condition and age of trains it inherited when taking over the service.
Earlier this month Mike Stubbs, TfL’s Director of London Overground, issued an apology for the disruption.
The transport agency now says it’s deploying “additional engineers” to ensure repairs are carried out more quickly and will spend around £2m to fix defective doors and addressing other faults.
Mr Brown added: “Some of the trains we have inherited along the West Anglia route are over 30 years old and have not been in use for some time. We’re now working hard to overhaul these trains to make them more reliable until the new trains come into service from 2018.”
