Wikipedia

British Rail Class 707

The British Rail Class 707 City Beam is a class of electric multiple unit passenger trains built by Siemens Mobility on its Desiro City platform, and operated in England by Southeastern. The units were previously operated by South Western Railway.

British Rail Class 707
City Beam
Southeastern Class 707s at Hither Green
Interior as refreshed by Southeastern
Stock typeElectric multiple unit
In service17 August 2017 – present
ManufacturerSiemens Mobility
Built atKrefeld, Germany
Family nameDesiro City
Replaced
Constructed2015–2018[2]
Entered service2017
Number built30
Successor
Fleet numbers707001–707030
Capacity275 seats[2]
OwnerAngel Trains
Operators
Depots
Lines served
  • London Charing Cross/Cannon street and Hayes [1]
  • London Cannon street loopers[1] (via Slade Green, Barnehust and Crayford)
  • London Charing Cross and Gravesend[1] (via Dartford)
  • London and Sevenoaks
Specifications
Car body constructionAluminium
Train length101.6 m (333 ft 4 in)
Car length
  • DM cars: 20.52 m (67 ft 4 in)
  • Trailers: 20.16 m (66 ft 2 in)
Width2.80 m (9 ft 2 in)
Floor height1.10 m (3 ft 7 in)
DoorsDouble-leaf pocket sliding (2 per side per car)
Wheel diameter820–760 mm (32.28–29.92 in) (new–worn)[4]
Wheelbase
  • Motor bogies: 2,200 mm (87 in)
  • Trailer bogies: 2,100 mm (83 in)[4]
Maximum speed100 mph (160 km/h)
Weight
Axle load
  • Motor bogies: 15.5 t (15.3 long tons; 17.1 short tons)
  • Trailer bogies: 14.5 t (14.3 long tons; 16.0 short tons)[4]
Power output1,200 kW (1,600 hp)
Acceleration0.85 m/s2 (1.9 mph/s)
Electric systemsThird rail, 750 V DC
Current collectionContact shoe
UIC classificationBo′Bo′+2′2′+2′2′+2′2′+Bo′Bo′
BogiesSiemens SGP SF7000[4]
Minimum turning radius120 m (390 ft)[4]
Safety systems
Coupling systemDellner
Multiple workingWithin class
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Notes/references
Sourced from [5][6] unless otherwise noted.

Background

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In September 2014, rail franchise operator South West Trains (SWT) announced plans to procure 30 five-car trains to expand its fleet to take advantage of significant infrastructure improvements that would allow the operation of ten-car trains. The Class 707 was the second product purchased for use on the British network from the Desiro City range, following the purchase of the Class 700 for Thameslink. All are leased from rolling stock company (ROSCO) Angel Trains.[7][8]

Construction of the first vehicles began in June 2015, with the first completed in March 2016.[9] The first two were completed as dual-voltage units with pantographs for operation on 25 kV 50 Hz AC overhead lines. This was a temporary arrangement for testing purposes at Siemens' Wildenrath test centre from May 2016.[10][11][12] They also operated in England in this configuration, being tested operating on the East Coast Main Line to Peterborough.[13]

The rest of the fleet was delivered with just 750 V DC shoegear for use on third rail electrified lines, but all will have the ability to be modified for dual-voltage use if required in future.[14] The first reached Britain on 9 December 2016.[15] Entry into service was originally planned for July 2017, with all 30 planned to be delivered by the end of 2017.[16] However, the first units entered service on 17 August, just three days before the South Western franchise was taken over by South Western Railway on 20 August 2017.[17][18] The last entered service in March 2018.[19]

Due to lower leasing costs becoming available, SWR decided it would replace the Class 707s with Class 701 Arterio trains from 2021.[20][21][22]

In April 2020, London & South Eastern Railway signed a deal to lease the entire Class 707 fleet.[23] The first four units were transferred in January 2021,[24] with fourteen more following in small batches throughout the rest of 2021. The final twelve were expected to transfer to Southeastern by early 2022,[25] but in January 2022 South Western Railway announced that continuing delays to its Class 701 programme had resulted in it extending its lease on the remaining 12 units until late 2022.[26][27] By November 2022 the lease had been extended again, into 2023.[28]

Thirty sets are now in service with Southeastern having been transferred from South Western Railway to Southeastern between late 2023 and late 2024. The last two sets from South Western Railway were transferred in September 2024.[29]

Operation

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SWT Class 707 at Reading in 2017

The Class 707 was introduced on services between London Waterloo and Windsor & Eton Riverside and London Waterloo and Weybridge via Hounslow, allowing the Class 458 trains used on those services to be cascaded back to operations to Reading, which then allowed the Class 450 units to move elsewhere on the network.[30] When operated by South Western Railway, Class 707 units were based at the Wimbledon Traincare Depot.[7]

The first Southeastern Class 707 units entered service on 27 September 2021.[25] Southeastern branded them City Beams, and deployed them on shorter-distance services from London Cannon Street and Charing Cross stations to Gravesend, Dartford, Sevenoaks, and Hayes.[31] Passengers praised the new trains for providing air conditioning and charging points for mobile devices, but expressed dissatisfaction that they were not fitted with toilets.[32] Southeastern noted in response that it was "not practical" to install toilets in the already-built units, and that the Class 376 units already in use on the same routes were also not fitted with toilets,[33] although Southeastern eventually announced in January 2025 that it would retrofit the Class 707 units with toilets.[34][35]

Fleet details

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Class Operator Qty. Year built Cars per unit Unit nos.
707 Southeastern 30 2015–2018 5 707001–707030[36][37][38][39][40]

Named units

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The following units have received names:

References

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  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Holden, Michael (5 July 2021). "Southeastern to bring Class 707s to London from Autumn 2021". RailAdvent. Leyland. Archived from the original on 11 July 2021. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  2. 1 2 "Class 707 'Desiro City'". London: First MTR South Western Trains. Archived from the original on 7 February 2021. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  3. ↑ "SWR to withdraw remaining 707s". Today's Railways UK. No. 260. October 2023. p. 62.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "SF7000: Bogie-platform for electrical multiple units" (PDF). Graz: Siemens Mobility Austria. May 2020. Art. No. MORS-B10032-00. Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 September 2020. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  5. ↑ "Desiro City Class 707 - Electrical multiple units for South West Trains" (PDF) (2016 ed.). Munich: Siemens Mobility. 8 August 2016. Art. No. MOML-T10023-00-7600. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 December 2016. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  6. ↑ "Class 707". Angel Trains. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
  7. 1 2 "Class 707 Desiro City - Factsheet". South West Trains. Stagecoach Rail Operations. Archived from the original on 16 August 2017. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  8. ↑ "Class 707s on way as well". Today's Railways UK. No. 162. Sheffield: Platform 5. June 2015. p. 67. ISSN 1475-9713.
  9. ↑ "Class 707s on way as well". Railways Illustrated. No. 166. Stamford: Key Publishing. August 2015. p. 15. ISSN 1479-2230.
  10. ↑ "First South West Trains Class 707s begin testing". Rail. No. 806. Peterborough: Bauer Consumer Media. 3 August 2016. p. 6. ISSN 0953-4563.
  11. ↑ "Class 707 People Movers for the Windsor Line". Modern Railways. No. 816. Stamford: Key Publishing. September 2016. p. 10. ISSN 0026-8356.
  12. ↑ "SWT Class 707s on Test". Railways Illustrated. No. 166. Stamford: Key Publishing. October 2016. p. 7.
  13. ↑ "On-test Class 707s reach Peterborough". Rail. No. 837. Peterborough: Bauer Consumer Media. 11 October 2017. p. 28. ISSN 0953-4563.
  14. ↑ "Class 707 breaks cover". Rail Engineer. Coalville: Rail Media Group. 25 August 2016. Archived from the original on 2 May 2017. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  15. ↑ "First SWT 707 reaches UK". Modern Railways. No. 821. Stamford: Key Publishing. February 2017. p. 12. ISSN 0026-8356.
  16. ↑ "First South West Trains Class 707 EMU under construction". Railway Gazette International. Sutton: DVV Media Group. 29 October 2015. ISSN 0373-5346. Retrieved 20 April 2026.
  17. ↑ "Class 707s enter service on Windsor routes". Rail UK. Rail Media Group. 18 August 2017. Retrieved 20 April 2026.
  18. ↑ "SWT Class 707s enter traffic - at end of franchise". The Railway Magazine. No. 1398. Horncastle: Mortons Media Group. September 2017. p. 82. ISSN 0033-8923.
  19. ↑ "Final Class 707s put into service by SWR". Rail. No. 849. Peterborough: Bauer Consumer Media. 28 March 2018. p. 32. ISSN 0953-4563.
  20. ↑ Armitage, Jim (14 February 2018). "Why your box-fresh train is being replaced by a brand new model". Business Focus. Evening Standard. London. ISSN 2041-4404. Archived from the original on 28 December 2020. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  21. ↑ Barrow, Keith (20 June 2017). "FirstGroup and MTR order 750 EMU cars for South Western franchise". International Railway Journal. Falmouth: Simmons-Boardman Publishing. ISSN 0744-5326. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  22. ↑ "Risky business: train fleets in a state of flux". Rail. Peterborough: Bauer Consumer Media. 23 August 2017. ISSN 0953-4563. Archived from the original on 11 November 2020. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  23. ↑ Clinnick, Richard (20 April 2020). "Southeastern signs deal to lease unwanted Class 707s". Rail. Peterborough: Bauer Consumer Media . ISSN 0953-4563. Archived from the original on 19 October 2020. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  24. ↑ "Southeastern welcomes the first of SWR's Class 707s". Rail. No. 923. Peterborough: Bauer Consumer Media. 27 January 2021. pp. 24–25. ISSN 0953-4563.
  25. 1 2 "Brighter, fresher, smarter new City Beam trains enter service in South East London and North Kent". Southeastern (Press release). London & South Eastern Railway. 27 September 2021. Archived from the original on 27 September 2021. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  26. ↑ "SWR retains 12 Class 707 trains in boost to fleet availability". South Western Railway (Press release). First MTR South Western Trains. 11 January 2022. Archived from the original on 7 March 2022. Retrieved 18 January 2022.
  27. ↑ Holden, Michael (11 January 2022). "South Western Railway extends Class 707 lease to boost capacity". Rail Advent. Leyland. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  28. ↑ "Southeastern puts Networkers on notice". Modern Railways. No. 891. Stamford: Key Publishing. December 2022. p. 86. ISSN 0026-8356.
  29. ↑ "City Beam fleet complete as last two trains come into customer service". Southeastern (Press release). SE Trains Ltd. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
  30. ↑ Pritchard, Robert. "Rolling Stock Update". Today's Railways UK. No. 159. Sheffield: Platform 5. pp. 40–43. ISSN 1475-9713.
  31. ↑ "Introducing our new City Beam trains". Southeastern. London & South Eastern Railway. Archived from the original on 2 October 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  32. ↑ Green, Tony (1 October 2021). "The new trains with WiFi, air conditioning and power points...but no toilets". ITV Meridian. ITV News. ITV plc. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  33. ↑ McGroarty, Adam (29 September 2021). "Southeastern slammed as flash new trains revealed to have no toilets". Kent Live. Reach. Archived from the original on 14 October 2021. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  34. ↑ "Relief for Southeastern passengers as train toilets to be installed". Railway Gazette International. Sutton: DVV Media Group. 15 January 2025. ISSN 0373-5346. Retrieved 16 April 2025.
  35. ↑ "Southeastern Class 707 'City Beam' trains to be fitted with customer toilets". Media Centre. Southeastern (Press release). SE Trains Ltd. 15 January 2025. Retrieved 16 April 2025.
  36. ↑ "Final Class 707s at Southeastern". Rail. No. 995. Peteborough: Bauer Consumer Media. 1 November 2023. p. 25. ISSN 0953-4563.
  37. ↑ "Class 707s finish with SWR". Railways Illustrated. No. 250. Horncastle: Mortons Media Group. December 2023. p. 24. ISSN 1479-2230.
  38. ↑ "Class 707 Desiro City/City Beam". Units. Rail Express. No. 329. Kelsey Publishing. October 2023. p. 22.
  39. ↑ "Southeastern Class 707 transfers resume". Railways Illustrated. No. 249. Horncastle: Mortons Media Group. November 2023. p. 23. ISSN 1479-2230.
  40. ↑ Mansfield, Ian (24 September 2024). "Southeastern completes fleet upgrade with final City Beam train transfer". Ian Visits. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
  41. ↑ "Train naming honours Ukrainian spirit". Rail. No. 978. Peteborough: Bauer Consumer Media. 8 March 2023. p. 21. ISSN 0953-4563.
  42. ↑ "Naming Update". Railways Illustrated. Stamford: Mortons Media Group. April 2022. p. 21. ISSN 1479-2230.
  43. ↑ "Stock Update". The Railway Magazine. No. 241. Horncastle: Mortons Media Group. March 2022. p. 83. ISSN 0033-8923.
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