GREATER Anglia has begun carrying out tests on a set of new trains.

The firm says it is hoping to use the new Bombardier electric trains later this spring providing they can come through a series of test runs.

The trains will be used across the network in Essex, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire

Each one is said to be longer than the ones currently in use, with more seats, plug and USB sockets, air conditioning, better passenger information screens and improved accessibility features.

Ian McConnell, Greater Anglia franchise and programme director, said: “It’s fantastic to have one of these new Bombardier trains now on our patch.

“Our test drivers have been very impressed with them. They said it was like going from a bottom of the range small car to a Rolls Royce compared to driving our old trains.

“We’re confident our customers will be equally pleased with the quality of the new trains, as they should greatly improve their journeys with us.

“The drivers will now spend many hours in the cab of the new trains as we test how the trains interact with the overhead wires, signals and points, their performance at different speeds, double-checking them at platforms in stations across the network to make sure new signage is in the right place.”

Greater Anglia plans to roll out all of its 111 new trains by spring 2021.