The Class 701 Train Now In Service 

My understanding for the "Not for Public Use" sockets at 4:08 is that they're higher current sockets than your standard at-seat socket, so they don't have the same protection for the circuit to prevent passengers from plugging in higher power devices (this one does seem to have its own RCD though). I guess they're used by cleaning staff for vacuums and things like that.

Long live Celia! Surprised to hear her on these new units. May she rest in peace ❤

the 2+2 seating look so much better than the 2+3 on GA. more of the train might actually be accessible for people and it wont bruise you as you walk down the corridor lol

I’m sure the “Not for Public Use” plugs have a full 13A rated current load, for cleaning staff to use vacuum cleaners. Whereas the ones by the seats have something like 3A or maybe even smaller breakers, which is why they are for “laptops only”. I did watch a passenger on a ScotRail 380 try to use hair straighteners with the at seat sockets, and after a few minutes all the at seat sockets (or at least the ones I tried around where I was sat) stopped functioning. I assume the breaker was tripped.

I am old enough to remember being so excited the first time I rode on a shiny new 455. Can't believe their time is nearly up. New ones look great though.

Built at Derby Litchurch Lane Works. I really hope that plant finds some orders and is able to continue building trains.

I will miss the 455s so much, they were also my childhood trains and remain my favourite

Decent trains I must say. After all that waiting they definitely exceeded my original expectations. Still doesn't beat the former SWT fleet though.

Geoff, I always admire your attention to detail for people with restricted mobility. You're a credit to the game.

I guess Staines is the first station that can use all 10 coaches. I remember the trains used on these lines in the 60s. Especially the pre-war Portsmouth corridors which ended their days on the Reading line. 455s were not used on the Windsor line. All Enduros (class 444).

Trains of your childhood? C'mon Geoff, you and I both know that the trains of our childhood had slam doors! I commuted to Cardiff to school on them, with a door for every row of seats. Great for commuters. Then when I bought my house next to the London-Portsmouth line in Guildford in 1996, for some years they still had the slam door trains operating on that line!

Great to see 2+2 seating - shame we seem to be baking in no level boarding for decades to come, something Stadler seem to have a grip on

Rode on it last week Quite impressed Seating is quite comfortable - far better than the "ironing boards" on the class 700

57 years later... GRANDPA THEY ARE IN SERVICE edit Ty for likes

Im so glad they kept Celia on as the announcer! Oh, and I'm also so sad that the 455s will eventually be withdrawn. One of my favourite classes in the country.

I used to work at Woking and was so hoping to allow customers to board instead of having to warn them to Stand Away, train not in public service. I now look forward to riding them myself as a customer

It’s very like the 720s we have on Greater Anglia. They have replaced the 317s that were the overhead power version of the 455 (though with toilets). I quite like the 720s apart from the narrow corridor between the 2+3 seats.

I saw that roll through Feltham this very morning! Very smart!

Was certainly nice to see them in action. Certainly a stand out for me over the rest of Aventra family. The uniqueness and the fact that you have walkthrough and detachable versions of the trains.

Thank you for sharing the video Geoff that was very interesting. ❤

Hey Geoff! It was a pleasure to meet you on the train just before waterloo! Brilliant camera shots in the video too.

Don't think I've ever waited this long for a RU-vid video (4 years!). Nice to see them finally online, but will be sad to see the 455s go.

Had the pleasure of seeing a few of these test running through Brockenhurst and Southampton last year. Brilliant showcase as always Geoff.

Nice video, thank you. It's amazing to see 10 coach walk-through trains on the Windsor (and Reading?) Southern line. The trains of my childhood were 2 BILs, HALs and EPBs. 😅

Onya Geoff! Love all your work and your enthusiasm old sausage!

I wish we had trains like that on the Sydney suburban network thanks Geoff love all your vids cheers Bob.🦘🐨☕🍩

Good to see them finally in service! I'll look forward to riding these soon.

The sockets labelled as not to be used are solely for cleaning staff, they have a much higher rated mcb than passenger sockets and have a dirtier supply of electricity, meaning devices such as laptops or phones plugged into them can be damaged. Hoovers or carpet cleaners are known to have a higher load so would cause the normal sockets to trip, and they're also more tolerant of dirty electricity.

If I want to have something like a cup of coffee on this train, it sounds I'd have to choose my seat wisely and also find the ideal position on the very small table.

It great to see the Class 701 finally entered service and what I can see it reminds me of the Class 730/0 for a bit how they laid it out for suburban traffic, great video Geoff

Finally got enough time back to myself to start watching Geoffs videos again.😊 my life is better again

Very nice looking trains, and nice interior 🤩👌

Good to see they’re finally in service

Gew up in Staines. Moved to Australia in 2008. I admit it was so nice to see a little shot of Staines Station. So many good memories hopping onto the train to go on adventures as a kid.

Does anyone else, like me, remember this route served by 2-EPB units? The train divided at Staines, the other portion going to Weybridge.

Seats look grim but air conditioning is going to be a game changer on these routes!

Well done. Keep up the good work.

Hope to be riding one soon from New Malden

Thanks Geoff - a useful expose as always - nicely done. Good to see that toilets are included. Excellent side-story with "Tablegate" around 4:25 ... Hang on - HOW many years to commission a new set of trains??? At least 2+2 seating is better for the post-1950s population. A reminder of the pantograph wells (never used, but future-proofed for other lines) on the 444s at 7:49 -

Good To See 701s In Service 👍

A good report as usual, thanks, though the Pedant in me cringed every time you called a charging socket a "plug".

They were stabled in HNRC on Worksop sidings seen a few of them

If I recall correctly, the "Not for public use" sockets are configured for shed/ shore supply. I think they have a seperate breaker too.

Thanks Geoff! 👍

I'm always shocked by how empty the trains are that Geoff travels on. I live on the South East coast and every train is busy, even the London-bound 8+ car trains. Great video, Geoff!

These trains have been stealthily going past us early morning commuters at Winchester for quite a while now. Covers on all the seats, approaching the platform at varying speeds, and generally looking very sleek and shiny. External displays indicated they were heading to Poole or Bournemouth but that always seemed unlikely. Amusing when they would test the doors and occasionally someone would think about getting on 😅 They look nice inside, but as with most trains on the SWR network, the legroom looks tight.

They look *much* nicer than a 455 - but I hope they don't replace the 450s, they're also really good trains

Thanks Geoff.

Nice to see this finally in service. I'm looking forward to them on the New Line Guildford as there will be loos on the line once again.

Definitely Nerd Central today! Love it.

These 701's look good. What I particularly like is the screen showing the availability of seats on each carriage - I dare say that they will turn red whenever the train is heaving with humanity. I reckon that test will come at the end of April, when the Army-Navy game takes place at Twickenham. And at 4:18, I think we've found Geoff's perfect office.

They’ll also be the main units on the Reading service going forward which wasn’t included your map for some reason.

Nice video Geoff!

I managed to ride on the first journey. They're really nice!

I also grew up with the 455s, including catching them to secondary school for 7 years. Will be sad to see them gone, but they’ve had their time.

The Class 701 is replacing the Class 455, 456, 707 (Remaining moved to Southeastern Railway), and the Class 458 (on Certain Routes)

Took their sweet time!

Goodstuff Geoff a true anorak i'm currently watching your All Station series thats fantastic i also liked your Piccadilly line video which one i hear you ask all of them lol my son is a driver on the line.

Nice. As you say, it's the end of the 455s - the last trains I maintained over 30 years ago...

I got told of the first service at about the time the outbound service was leaving Twickenham last Tuesday, so I got up and raced to Staines station to ride it into Waterloo on the return journey. I got on in coach 8, and walked to the back. Then I walked down to the front after we left Clapham Junction, and came into platform 17 at Waterloo. I really liked them, and although the seats are hard, they're clearly padded so should soften up given use. But, the seats seem too close together for a 2+2 seated train, as though they've taken the spacers from a 3+2 seat coach and used them here to give more standing room. It isn't comfortable to sit in a window seat when you realise you're taking up room on the seat next to you. I'm guessing this was recorded on Thursday?

Likewise Geoff, the 455's were the train of my childhood growing up in Twickenham / Whitton in the 1980's. It will be a sad day for me to see them replaced by the 701's.

Surprised the grab poles aren't the light blue of the seat handles. The units look good though!

Well done, Geoff--it's Magic--- from Windsor to... Levin NZ by 9pm NZSuT on Jan 17th :-)) Pity I'll never get to LHR again unless I win Lotto..

HALLELUJAH AT LAST! How long did we have to wait!

You finally reviewed this train. The arterios

After so long it is rolling out now!

Splendid from 11

I Just Missed Riding On These Trains I Went To Richmond Park In The Summer Of 2023 We’re I Got Off At Mortlake But Went To Richmond On The Way Back Home And A Few Weeks Ago In January 2024 I Went To Hampton Court Palace And On The 455 I Looked In Clapham Junction Depot And Saw These 701s And I Thought ‘ i will ride on one of them soon’ And I Never Saw One Bypass From Waterloo-Suburton

the plugs near the floor are specifically made fore vacuums. So the cleaning team use only these ones.

Yup. Would be nice to see it on the 6:20 Waterloo to reading service. All the people who crowd on at earley

Route gauging clearance was completed over 2 years ago now. A great train from a gauging point of view with only a handful of station platform mods needed... Looks like SWR have resolved the union disputes that have prevented these trains from running 18 months ago.

I never thought id see the day

About damn time too

It’s about time these entered service after it’s sneak peek 4 years ago now it’s very nice to see these in service they are great trains i can’t wait for them to go on the express lines and go on the express routes later on in 2024 so they can run along with the 450s and 44s once the 455s leave which will be sad to see them go but these 701s are great even though I’m not that much of a fan of Aventras apart from the 730s are 701s these are great trains.

These trains are running on my local so I can’t wait to ride on then when I get the chance

Not St David’s services then yet only suburban services. Good to see new trains in though. Nice vid Geoff.

The class 701 trains are nice.

I Like How The Class 701 Still Uses Celia

The "not for public use" sockets will probably have higher current ratings so that higher power appliances can be used, like vacuum cleaners etc. Also, the one you pointed to looked like it was in a walkway, rather than under seats, so plugging things in there while the train is in use could be a trip hazard and obstacle for emergency exit etc etc.

Hello, I only know South Eastern Railways coming from Folkestone via Chanel Tunel and I see those lines are fitted with same electric third rail device. In every country the fashion for new deliveries is to all access trains from head to end. In France we also had some problems for longer or higher, or larger trains than platforms. Before running big works had to be done to adapt platforms and stations. Like you i suspect this brand new marvelous unit will be spoiled by massive, frequent passengers using above all in bad weather. Carpet floors won't last fresh. It seems to be confortable, clear and roomy, specially inside round w c for disable person access. It 's not about the same subject but if TGV Eurostar still used Waterloo Line access they would'nt have been stopped in nothern new high speed line by big flushes of water in tunnels ! best regards. Marco

I have to say that the new Class 701 Arterio trains are very nice and should also be in service on other services to replace the Class 455 that are scheduled to be scrapped. With the Class 458 that are to be converted back to 4-Car to be used on the Portsmouth Direct line.

FINALLY AFTER MORE THAN 4 YEARS

Was there an external marking for the accessible area?

Some plug sockets are positioned for out of service cleaning but would create a potential trip hazard when used in service.

I saw the title and literally shouted „Wooow“ 😂

love Celia Drummonds voice, she did the best announcements

ooo nice trains

2:36 That's the carriage number (unless you have accidetally timeshifted to one of the old 4VEC units that used to run on the Isle of Wight until the 1990s! )

Geoff has the error of the London underground on the board of the 701 trains been fixed. I mean, where it says TFL rail not Elizabeth line

No rush.

Celia is on 455s but normally doesn't always work definitely will miss them 😢

Nice train! And still very clean, unused toilets... And I saw on that display that it gives live occupation indication. This makes me think that there are sensors in every seat that registers if the seat is occupied. Or how do they do that? What does that little flag say on the other 701 at arrival into Waterloo station at 7:57 ?

Seen a few sitting at Clapham Junction for ages ......

Two services a day now. I did them both today.

Hopefully it won't be too long before more enter service.

They look good.

celia is also on the jubilee and northern lines

These are the only modern trains I genuinely think look like toys, something about the design makes them look like they’re from a child’s play set

How is it so wide in the aisle? Brilliant.

Are these going to run "blue" services (medium distance) as well or just "red" routes (metro services)? They seem more suited to long-distance than the 720s on GA with no armrests, no tables and 3+2 throughout