British Rail Class 379

Around the start of the twenty-first century, the West Anglia Main Line (WAML) was relatively neglected in terms of investment and attention amongst railway planners in comparison to routes such as the Great Eastern Main Line (GEML) and the lines serving Tilbury and Southend. According to industry periodical RAIL, these lines had received considerably more infrastructure investment as well as new rolling stock that had enabled both non-stop services and a higher top speed of , the WAML was largely worked by a two decade-old fleet of Class 317 electric multiple units (EMU) on infrastructure that restricted speeds to and only provided sufficient capacity for stopping services. these were subsequently designated as the Class 379. They would supplement, rather than replace, the majority of the line's existing rolling stock, and thus represented a significant increase in capacity on the WAML. A key service that the type was procured for was the Stansted Express, from which National Express East Anglia was reportedly deriving roughly 20 percent of its revenue from operating. Testing of this initial unit commenced shortly thereafter, after which it was returned to Derby to receive its final fittings. Deliveries of the fleet were at a consistent pace through to the final Class 379 being handed over during August 2011. ==Design and features==

The Class 379 electric multiple-unit train is a member of Bombardier Transportation's Electrostar family, although a number of its features are derived from the successor Aventra family. A considerable number of bins are provided, to reduce littering and aid the cleanup process. Among the various passenger amenities, all carriages are fitted with Wi-Fi, the apparatus for which was supplied by the Swedish company Icomera. This connectivity is used for multiple purposes beyond personal internet by passengers: various onboard systems, including the reservation, CCTV, passenger information displays, and miscellaneous sensors and monitoring systems, are interconnected via the Wi-Fi. Condition-related data is seamlessly fed back to the operator's control centre, aiding operations and maintenance. A digital announcement system is provided, which sounds only during the departure of, or upon the approach to, a served station. The interior lighting was supplied by Teknoware, including emergency lighting that fulfils GM/RT 2130 requirements. Air conditioning is also fitted. ==Operations==

during testing in 2011 During early 2011, the Class 379 began its phased introduction into revenue service. On 17 March 2011, the first two units, 379005 and 379006, performed the type's first service with a high-profile launch by Secretary of State for Transport Philip Hammond. 379005 was named Stansted Express in a ceremony at . Over the following three months, a further 18 sets joined the initial pair working the Stansted Express services. They have been worked in a mixture of 12-car and 8-car lengths. The fleet was maintained by Bombardier at Ilford EMU Depot. The new fleet's introduction was delayed: the first Class 745/1 entered service on 28 July 2020. Due to high leasing costs Greater Anglia withdrew the Class 379 fleet from service in February 2022, after which the units were placed in storage. In March 2024, Porterbrook announced that they had purchased the units from Akiem, and that Govia Thameslink Railway planned to use the trains on Great Northern services. In November 2024, Great Northern announced that all Class 379s had been accepted into their fleet. The trains entered service on Great Northern route services on 10 February 2025. Battery-electric multiple unit trial During 2013, the national infrastructure owning company Network Rail announced that unit 379013 would be used as a testbed for a future battery electric multiple unit. Following several months of conversion work and non-service testing, the unit was used to carry passengers for the first time on a Manningtree–Harwich Town service on 12 January 2015. Throughout its five-week trial period, data was gathered to assess its performance; it could reportedly operate for up to an hour on battery power alone, while charging via the pantograph took two hours. ==Fleet details==

Named units were as follows: • 379005 Stansted Express (de-named) • 379011 Ely Cathedral (de-named) • 379012 The West Anglian (de-named) • 379015 City of Cambridge (de-named) • 379025 Go Discover (de-named) ==References==