First of £1bn Arterio trains completes inaugural journey

The first of a £1bn fleet of trains has completed its inaugural journey - over four years behind schedule.

An Arterio train carried South Western Railway (SWR) passengers between London Waterloo and Windsor for the first time on Tuesday.

The high-capacity trains were initially due to run from December 2019 on SWR routes to Reading and Windsor in Berkshire.

Software issues and the pandemic have been blamed for the four-year delay.

Of the 90 Class 701 trains ordered, only 60 have been delivered so far, with only one in passenger service.

SWR said it aims to introduce the remaining trains, which are built by Alstom in Derby, into passenger service within the next 12 to 18 months.

For now, just one new train will run each day between London and Windsor, for four days as part of a trial.

Stuart Meek, SWR's chief operating officer, said: "We're very keen to get the full fleet into service as soon as possible, but we need to do that cautiously."

He added that the trains had to "meet the standard in terms of customer service, safety and reliability", and that "the last thing we want to do is put a train into service and for it to break down on the tracks".

Mr Meek described Tuesday's journey as the "next step on the journey" to introducing the Arterio into full service.

In December 2022, the Department for Transport stated the trains would be in service "as soon as possible in 2023".

At the time, SWR said the delay was partly due to the impact of Covid-19. However, it acknowledged serious issues with the trains' software.

The trains are intended to first run on Reading and Windsor lines, before extending to the entire SWR suburban network in south west London.

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