British Rail Class 701

The British Rail Class 701  is a class of Aventra electric multiple units being built for South Western Railway by Bombardier Transportation's Derby Litchurch Lane Works. They are due to enter service in 2019-20 on the Reading, Windsor and South West London suburban lines.

History
In March 2017, South Western Railway (SWR) was awarded the South Western franchise with a commitment to introduce 750 new carriages. In June 2017, SWR awarded a contract to Bombardier Transportation for 90 Aventras, with 60 ten-car and 30 five-car trains to be introduced from 2019. These new trains will eventually replace all of SWR's Class 455, 456, 458 and 707 fleets. Initially classified as Class 705 (5-car) and Class 711 (10-car), the units were subsequently given the number Class 701.

Maintenance
The Class 701s will be maintained at Wimbledon depot.

Features
The Class 701 will feature regenerative braking, wide gangways between coaches, wide doors for ease and efficiency of boarding and alighting, 2+2 seating arrangement, Wi-Fi and at-seat USB charging points, as well as real-time passenger information screens, air conditioning and accessible toilets for disabled passengers.