THE first of Greater Anglia's new electric trains have now been rolled out, taking passengers to and from Southend.

The electric trains entered service for the first time yesterday, with two of the trains couple together take passengers to and from Liverpool Street and Southend.

Greater Anglia is receiving delivery of 133 five-carriage electric commuter trains from UK manufacturer bombardier, which will run from Liverpool Street across Essex, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, and Ipswich.

Two new trains formed ten carriages for the 16.10 service to Liverpool Street from Southend, before returning as the 17.25 service from Liverpool Street, arriving in Southend at 18.28.

Bosses at the train company say the trains are fitted with USB and plug points, free wifi, air conditioning, improved accessibility features including a disabled toilet on every train, and dedicated bike spaces.

The trains are the first in the UK to have underfloor heating.

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Ian McConnell, Greater Anglia's franchise and programmes director, said: "We are absolutely delighted to have put the first of our brand-new Bombardier trains in passenger service.

"All through the pandemic, our teams have been working hard to carry out safety and performance tests on these trains, in partnership with Bombardier.

"At the same time, we’ve been training our staff and getting stations ready for these new trains.

"We’re confident these new trains will improve our customers’ journeys as they are longer with more seats and all the mod-cons modern passengers expect.

"Last year, Network Rail finished a long-term programme to completely replace the overhead wire system which was installed in the 1950s on the Southend Victoria line and we are now introducing brand new trains on this route, so together we’re transforming the railway in this region."

Matt Byrne, Bombardier president in the UK and Ireland added: "It’s really great news that Greater Anglia’s passengers can now start travelling on these cutting-edge, British designed and built trains.

"We have worked really closely with Greater Anglia to ensure that the production, testing and delivery of the new trains has continued despite the continuing impact of Covid-19.

"Higher capacity, more sustainable, and packed with features such as wifi, USB charging and underfloor heating, the new electric trains will play an important part in helping transform journeys across the Greater Anglia network.’

The trains have been procured and financed by Angel Trains.

Angel Trains chief executive ffficer, Malcolm Brown said: "The Class 720s entering service for the first time is a huge milestone and, as a leading investor in sustainable rolling stock, we’re proud to have supported Greater Anglia throughout this transformative project.

"Replacing the current suburban fleet, these state-of-the-art vehicles will go a long way towards enhancing the rail travel experience for thousands of passengers and modernising UK rail."