The Department for Transport has announced that they have started the procurement process for a new fleet of trains for the Thameslink Programme. The new trains will be a step forward in design and will be consistent with the department's Technical Strategy, in particular the objective of having lighter vehicles that will be more energy efficient and have less impact on the track, with a consequent saving in maintenance costs.

The new trains will be introduced in 2012, and will run at a frequencuy of 24 trains an hour through central London by the end of 2015.