This is a short article covering two recent transport related news items.
First of all, the new Class 710 is now serving the Lea Valley lines which are operated by London Overground.
From the TfL press release
Customers using London Overground routes from Cheshunt, Chingford and Enfield Town into London Liverpool Street began to benefit from a boost in capacity today, as the first of the new state-of-the-art trains were introduced.
The new walk-through electric trains will increase capacity by around 10% and have a host of customer benefits including air-conditioning, free Wi-Fi, real-time information screens, USB charging points and more wheelchair spaces making accessible travel easier.
More reliable service
The new electric trains, built by Bombardier Transportation in Derby, will replace the oldest rolling stock operating on the London Overground ensuring customers receive a more reliable service as well as the additional features.
They will run as four-car trains and at peak times will have the option to be connected and operate as longer eight-car units. This is to help provide increased capacity during the morning and evening peak to better meet customer demand.
New trains will be introduced on a phased basis on these routes to ensure there is a smooth transition for customers and make sure they are operating reliably. It is expected all the new trains will be in service by the end of June.
The first new 710s were introduced on in May 2019 on the Gospel Oak to Barking route.
Below are the recent London Bus tender awards:
LBSL intends to enter into new contracts for the following routes with the operators listed below:
| Route | Current Operator | New Operator | PVR | Vehicles |
| 306 | London United | Metroline | 11 | Double deck (details TBC) |
| 385 | HCT Group | HCT Group | 1 | Existing diesel single deck |
| 654 | Metrobus | Metrobus | 1 | Existing diesel double deck |
All the vehicles detailed above will meet Euro VI emissions standards.
The above contracts will commence on the following dates:
· 17th October 2020: Route 385
· 24th October 2020: Route 654
· 12th December 2020: Route 306
According to the London Bus Routes service changes page, they said “306 - Contract awarded to Metroline with 11 double deckers from Brentford garage”.
Anything could happen once the new contract starts towards end of this year; they could be using existing buses or use new zero-emission double-deck electric buses.
 |
| The BYD-ADL Enviro400EV City |
Fifteen New Routemaster routes (3, 16, 24, 27, 68, 91, 148, 159, 168, 189, 390, 415, N3 N16 & N27) are set for conversion to front door only boarding by 6th March 2020 for the purpose of reducing fare evasion on New Routemaster buses by ending three-door open boarding.
Then, on 7th March 2020, London Bus route 212 will convert to BYD-ADL Enviro400EV City under the new contract operated by Go-Ahead London from Northumberland Park garage.
We are proud to
announce that from tomorrow, routes 444 and 212 will begin operating
from our Northumberland Park garage. Route 212 will have a full fleet of
fully electric double deck buses and route 444 will have four electric
buses with more being introduced in the future. pic.twitter.com/3JQPf0QgUq
—
Go-Ahead London (@Go_Ahead_London) March
6, 2020
I’ll wrap up the short article with a couple videos of the Class 710 train in action filmed by CityTransportInfo.
I invite you to follow me on Twitter by searching for @CLondoner92 or clicking on the direct link to my Twitter page here.
