GREATER Anglia's rollout of brand-new trains reached north Essex with an early morning maiden passenger voyage from Clacton.

Early morning travellers boarded one of the company’s British-built electric commuter trains which left Clacton at 5.20am on Tuesday bound for London Liverpool Street.

The ten-carriage train, made up of two brand new five-carriage trains coupled together, then went on to serve the London Liverpool Street to Ipswich and Colchester to Colchester Town routes for the first time.

It’s the first time that these new trains - built by Alstom, formerly known as Bombardier – have operated in passenger service beyond Witham and Braintree, to serve stations in North Essex and Suffolk.

Andrew Goodrum, Greater Anglia business readiness director, who was on board for the first passenger trip, said: “It’s brilliant to see more of our routes served by brand new trains.

“Obviously at the moment there aren’t as many passengers as usual due to Covid-19, but as we follow the roadmap out of lockdown, we’re sure passengers will appreciate the extra seats, space and mod cons that these trains will give them.

“Since we first introduced our new Alstom trains into passenger service last November, we’ve been delighted with passengers’ responses – they like the comfort of the seats, the plug and USB sockets, the fast free wifi and the smooth quiet ride.”

The new trains, which are longer with more seats, all have two wheelchair user spaces and one accessible toilet per five-carriage train, as well as a dedicated area to secure four full-size bikes.

Greater Anglia is introducing 133 of the new trains, which are all being built in Derby.

They are the first trains in the UK to be fitted with underfloor heating, which works with an overhead heating and air conditioning system to improve passenger comfort and increase foot room for passengers sitting in window seats.

Greater Anglia is replacing every single train on its network with brand new trains.

They will also start operating between Harwich and Manningtree and between Walton-on-the-Naze and Thorpe-le-Soken.

The full introduction of new trains on Greater Anglia’s services is due to be completed in Summer 2022.