Alstom Completes First of 10 Elizabeth Line Trains

DERBY, UK – The first Class 345 No. 345071 has left Alstom’s Litchurch Lane production line and begun final testing on-site, with track trials near London scheduled ahead of commercial entry by the end of 2025. The nine-car train is part of a government-funded order for 10 additional Aventra units, needed to accommodate rising ridership on the Elizabeth line, which has recorded over 850 million trips since May 2022.

What Is the Full Scope of This Project?

The 10 new Class 345 trains will increase the Elizabeth line’s total fleet length to nearly 16 kilometres and raise peak capacity to approximately 120,000 passengers. Each train incorporates around 8 kilometres of welds, 80 kilometres of cables, over 47,700 screws, and 31,700 bolts. The order also supports future services to Old Oak Common station, the planned interchange with the HS2 high-speed line. Manufacturing, testing, and commissioning will run through 2025 and 2026, with all units built at the Derby plant, the UK’s only remaining facility capable of complete in-house train design, production, and testing.

Key Project Data

How Does This Compare to Similar Projects?

The undisclosed value of the 10-train order sits within a broader surge in UK rail infrastructure spending. For context, the East West Railway Company is currently shaping a £300 million consultancy framework to support delivery of the Oxford–Cambridge rail link, a programme at a far earlier stage than the Elizabeth line but comparable in its strategic ambition to improve regional connectivity. Both initiatives are part of the UK’s £455 billion net zero construction pipeline, which dedicates £56 billion over five years to transmission infrastructure alone and supports over one million jobs. While the Elizabeth line fleet expansion addresses immediate urban demand, the East West Rail scheme reflects a parallel effort to strengthen inter-city links. Neither TfL nor Alstom has disclosed the per-unit cost of the new Class 345 trains, but comparable nine-car EMU orders in Europe typically range between £15 million and £20 million per set. (Source: East West Railway Company market engagement, 2025; IndexBox UK net zero pipeline report, 2025)

Note: Independent verification of the total contract value for the 10 additional Elizabeth line trains was not available at time of publication.

Editor’s Analysis

Alstom’s Derby output signals that rolling stock procurement in the UK is increasingly tied to capacity expansion on proven, high-ridership routes rather than speculative new starts. The Elizabeth line’s 850-million-trip milestone has translated directly into a political and financial case for more trains, reinforced by Excel London’s reported 20% visitor uplift linked to Custom House station access. With the government also funding the Old Oak Common interchange and the East West Rail preparation, rail spending is becoming a lever for both decarbonisation and regional economic redistribution, echoing the supply-chain logic highlighted by Alstom’s 40 UK suppliers. The absence of a disclosed unit price, however, leaves open the question of whether these follow-on orders will match the cost efficiencies seen in earlier batches. (Source: Construction News UK infrastructure pipeline, 2025; Excel London visitor data, 2025)

FAQ

Q: When will the first new Elizabeth line train enter passenger service?
A: The first unit, No. 345071, is expected to start commercial operations by the end of 2025, following testing near London and on the Elizabeth line itself.

Q: How many additional passengers will the 10 new trains carry?
A: Once all new trains are delivered, the total fleet capacity will reach approximately 120,000 passengers, though exact per-train capacity figures have not been separately stated.

Q: Is the UK government funding the whole order?
A: Yes, the 10 Aventra Class 345 units are fully funded by the British government, partly to serve the future Old Oak Common HS2 interchange and meet growing demand on the Elizabeth line.