British Rail Class 720

The Class 720 is a member of rolling stock manufacturer Bombardier's Aventra family of multiple units, having been developed from the company's successful line of Electrostar electric multiple units (EMUs). Each car has a length of , the bodyshell of which is composed of aluminium, the assembly of which using both welding and bolting techniques. The interior of Class 720 features a 3+2 seating arrangement. These seats are intentionally cantilevered above the floor to provide greater under-seat space for storing personal luggage as well as to ease cleaning. Each car has air conditioning throughout, while numerous passenger information systems, displaying passenger loading indicators among other information, are present across each carriage's interior. ==History==

Greater Anglia In August 2016, Abellio Greater Anglia was awarded the East Anglia franchise with a commitment to replace all of the existing fleet. As part of this, an order was placed with Bombardier for 111 electric multiple units that were members of the recently launched Aventra family. The order was financed by the rolling stock company Angel Trains, with an estimated cost of around £890 million. These new trains were designated as the Class 720 and were originally planned to be divided into two sub-classes; 89 five-carriage 720/5 units and 22 ten-carriage 720/1 units. The Class 720 is a replacement for a diverse range of units, including the Class 317 and Class 321 units, together with the more modern Class 360 and Class 379 fleets that have long been used on outer-suburban services on the West Anglia and Great Eastern Main Lines. The Class 720s were constructed at Bombardier's Derby Litchurch Lane Works. The introduction of the fleet has been accompanied by a roughly £300million investment in new and refurbished infrastructure, affecting depots, sidings, and stations, to best accommodate the new trains. Six 10-car trains were ordered, with entry into service planned for 2021. In May 2021, the order was subsequently amended to comprise twelve 5-car trains. These were numbered in subclass 720/6, following an earlier expectation that they would be designated Class 711. These new units would replace c2c's six four-car units, which c2c was operating on a short-term lease from Porterbrook. == Operation ==

Greater Anglia Production of the first unit for Greater Anglia began in February 2018 and was completed in September 2018. Early on, it had been intended for the type to enter service during 2019, but the fleet's introduction had to postponed into the following year due to software issues with the onboard Train Control Management System (TCMS). Testing of the first unit commenced on 17 March 2020, on the London Liverpool Street to Southend line. Both the testing and production programmes were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic that took hold during 2020. On 8 June 2020, operational use of the Class 720 was formally authorised by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR). On 16 December 2020, they started service on the Braintree branch, and on 23 December 2020, the Class 720s were rolled out on Southminster services. In February 2021, it was reported that driver training had begun for their introduction to the Cambridge route. That same month, Ian McConnell, Greater Anglia's franchise and programmes director, noted that the Class 720 was already running relatively well and free of any meaningful technical issues, with challenges with the onboard software issues being the chief concern with the type's deployment at that point. On 25 August 2021, Class 720s entered service on the West Anglia mainline and Hertford East branch. On 13 September 2021, the 720s started services to Harwich Town and Walton-on-the-Naze. By April 2023, the fleet had replaced a wide number of trains used on suburban routes, with the final 720 being delivered in spring 2025. c2c Class 720s for c2c were planned to enter service in 2021, On 6 October 2022, the Southend Echo quoted a c2c spokesperson as saying "trains are currently undergoing rigorous testing. We will update our customers as soon as we have more information as to when they will be entering passenger service”. In March 2023, c2c's managing director confirmed in an interview that it was planned that the Class 720s would enter service later that year. On 2 June 2023, it was reported that the new trains would come into passenger service in September. The first c2c 720s duly entered service on 27 September 2023. The new trains have been praised by local commuters. ==Fleet details==

The units resemble the and built for Crossrail and London Overground respectively. However, owing to the services that they operate, the Class 720s have a higher top speed of , and have significantly more seats per carriage (and less standing space). ==Named units==

The following units have received special liveries or names. ==References==