Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) says it is temporarily sub-leasing six Gatwick Express Trains – Class 387/2 – to Great Western Railway (GWR) to help the operator with additional capacity, while passenger numbers on Gatwick Express services remain low due to COVID-19.
The first three Class 387 units – 204, 205 and 206 – left Hornsey depot in north London on 13 July. With the DfT’s consent they were loco-hauled to GWR. The remaining three units will follow later this month.
The Hitachi Class 800 trains were withdrawn from passenger service in April due to cracks in the lifting points. GTR will assist GWR while Hitachi conducts its work to maintain the fleet and implement a long-term repair programme. The trains will go back to GTR when it needs them for use on its own network.
In total, GTR has 27 Class 387@ trains that are currently supporting Southern services as well as Great Northern when the operator took its last Class 365 unit out of service.
“We're committed to bringing back our Gatwick Express services when passenger numbers recover but, in the meantime, releasing these trains to help passengers and colleagues at GWR is the right thing to do.”
