Porterbrook Agrees to Purchase Rolling Stock from Southern

Porterbrook Leasing Company Limited (“Porterbrook”) has completed a transaction to purchase 44 Bombardier Class 377 dual voltage Electric Multiple Unit vehicles from train operator Southern at a cost of £54M.

The 44 vehicles made up of 11 4 car units were originally ordered by Southern and delivered into operation in the last few months. They will be integrated into the current Class 377 fleet, also owned by Porterbrook and operated by Southern.

The trains are currently sub leased to First Capital Connect as part of the Thameslink upgrade project and are expected to remain there until replaced by new trains when they will return to Southern.

The vehicles were assembled at Bombardier’s production facility in Derby and have been fitted to the highest standard including air conditioning, CCTV surveillance system and on-board electronic passenger information linked through a Global Positioning System. They are also equipped with automatic selective door opening to cater for short platforms and are suitable for driver-only operation. The facilities on-board are also fully compliant with the latest Disability Discrimination Act legislation.

Paul Francis, Managing Director at Porterbrook said “We are delighted to be investing once again in this class of vehicle and continuing with our commitment to support the growth of the railway industry. The total number of Class 377 vehicles in service now stands at 792 and is the largest rolling stock class in the UK.”