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Class 717 Desiro City
Siemens' six-car Desiro City for Great Northern's routes into Moorgate from Welwyn Garden City, Hertford North and Stevenage. The 25 trains carried their first passengers on preview runs from 28 September 2018 and entered regular service on 25 March 2019, replacing the 1970s Class 313s. Every car has two pairs of wide sliding doors on each side, and there's a door in the cab front so that passengers can get out in the Moorgate tunnels. In March 2023 the ORR authorised the fleet to carry passengers under ETCS Level 2 in-cab signalling on the Northern City Line, and on 8 July 2025 717020 ran the first passenger train on the upgraded ETCS software (Baseline 3), with the rest of the fleet to follow.
Scale
399 ft (121.674 m) over couplers
Class 717 Desiro City · schematic drawing GB Trains · gbtrains.uk/stock/717/ · CC BY 4.0
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Liveries 1
Great NorthernGreat NorthernShown aboveSpecial liveries 1
- NHS thank-you wrap, 717011 April 2020 (COVID-19).
- Type
- Electric multiple unit
- Builder
- Siemens Mobility, Krefeld (Germany)
- Family
- Desiro City, with Class 700 Desiro City, Class 707 Desiro City
- Built
- completed 2018
- In service
- since 2019
- Operators
- Great Northern
- Formation
- 6 cars (399 ft (121.7 m))
- Trains in fleet
- 25
- Fleets
- Great Northern: 25
- Top speed
- 85 mph (136 km/h)
- Power
- 25 kV AC overhead and 750 V DC third rail; 1,200 kW at the wheels · how it works
- Bogies
- Siemens SF7000 bogies · drawn with the same bogie component as Class 700 Desiro City, Class 707 Desiro City
- Train length
- 399 ft (121.674 m)
- Car width
- 9 ft 2 in (2.80 m)
- Train weight (tare)
- about 204 t (Siemens)
- Profile
- main-line
- Walk-through
- Yes
- Air-conditioned
- Yes
- Seats per train
- 362
- Total capacity
- 943 passengers, all standard class (GTR). 362 seats: GTR counts 64 priority seats and 15 tip-ups among them; Siemens' data sheet gives 362 not counting tip-ups
- Status
- In service with Great Northern (GTR, in public ownership since 31 May 2026). Maintained by Siemens at Hornsey depot; financed by Rock Rail Moorgate.
unverified Some of these figures haven’t yet been checked against an official source or a published history. What’s in doubt ↓
Car types
| Code | Car | Length | Doors per side |
|---|---|---|---|
| DMOS | Driving motor (cars 1 and 6) | 67 ft 4 in20.52 m | 2 double |
| TOS | Trailer (car 2) | 66 ft 2 in20.16 m | 2 double |
| TOSW | Trailer with wheelchair spaces and space for a toilet (car 3, TOS(L)W) | 66 ft 2 in20.16 m | 2 double |
| MOS | Motor (car 4) | 66 ft 2 in20.16 m | 2 double |
| PTOS | Pantograph trailer (car 5) | 66 ft 2 in20.16 m | 2 double |
Sources
How we source figures → · Spotted a mistake? Tell us → (opens in a new tab)
Show the 33 sources from Wikimedia Commons, Siemens Mobility, GTR and 14 more
- Desiro City Class 717: Electrical Multiple Units for Govia Thameslink Railway (data sheet, article no. MOML-T10055-00-7600) Siemens Mobility, 2018 (print code DB 0818)25 six-car trains, axle arrangement, a top speed of 136 km/h (85 mph), 1,200 kW, AC and DC supply, 362 seats not counting tip-ups, unit length 399 ft (121,674 mm), width 9 ft 2 in (2,800 mm), floor height 3 ft 7 in (1,100 mm), 66 ft (20 m) nominal car length, tare weight about 204 t; provision for a toilet in the TOS(L)W; two sliding doors per car per side, 4 ft 11 in (1,500 mm) wide; front egress device; side elevation and plan of all six cars (measurable, no dimensions printed)
- Siemens tests new Great Northern trains for Hertfordshire-Moorgate services GTR, 4 May 2018built at Krefeld; 150 carriages; 12 trains complete by May 2018; financed by Rock Rail Moorgate; routes
- Passengers given first glimpse of new trains set to transform Great Northern suburban service GTR, 1 October 2018all 25 built by October 2018; 943 passengers and 362 seats; no first class; full-width gangways; replaces the Class 313s
- New Great Northern Class 717 carries first passengers Rail, 1 October 2018first passengers on 28 September 2018 (717007, Moorgate to Gordon Hill)
- Great Northern Class 717s finally enter passenger service Rail, 25 March 2019regular passenger service from 25 March 2019
- Testing begins on GTR's new Class 717s in Germany The Railway Magazine, 30 June 2018testing at Wegberg-Wildenrath; the front egress ramp
- Modernised depot to transform Great Northern rail services Siemens, 13 December 2016maintained by Siemens at Hornsey
- Class 707 Angel Trainscar lengths of the sister Class 707
- SF7000: the bogie for the Desiro City (Hirtenlechner and Brandstetter) Siemens (Schienenfahrzeugtagung, Graz), 2013bogie wheelbases
- MoComp Bogie SF7000: platform for electrical multiple units (data sheet) Siemens Mobility Austria GmbH, Graz, 02/2022, p. 2the bogie drawing: the side view, inner bearings, brakes and dampers, 2 ft 11 in (880 mm) to the air spring's top
- SWT 707004 (425005) bogie detail (photograph, 27 February 2017, CC BY-SA 4.0) Wikimedia Commons (Geof Sheppard), 27 February 2017the bogie's layout as fitted (a 707 motor bogie, layout only)
- Class 700 powered bogie on 14 road (photograph, CC BY-SA 4.0) Wikimedia Commons (Ivor the driver), uploaded 17 September 2017 (the camera's date, 2010, can't be right)the bogie's layout as fitted (a 700 motor bogie, layout only)
- Desiro City electrical multiple unit for Thameslink (data sheet) Siemens, 2014Desiro City wheel diameter, 2 ft 8 in (820 mm) new and 2 ft 6 in (760 mm) worn
- Class 717 Drivers Guide, version 3, March 2022 (final disclosure extract: cover and contents only) Govia Thameslink Railway (released under FOI2026-3260), September 2026the Class 717 Drivers Guide (version 3, March 2022): only the cover and contents pages were released
- 3008 Southeastern Class 707 design definition (rev 1.4), with drawings 3008.101.1.1.C 'Livery + Decal Scheme' (1:50, rev P2) and 3008.105.1.3.A front end Creactive Design for Southeastern (released under FOI: 'Livery Designs'), June 2021the Class 707 layout the drawing uses (doors, windows, bogies, body ends)
- Class 717 photographs (717016, Hornsey, October 2023; 717004 at Stevenage) Wikimedia Commons (Southsea_Matt CC BY-SA 4.0; Three76Five43Nine72 CC BY 4.0), 2023-2025Great Northern's colours (717 004, 717 016)
- Desiro City Class 717: Electrical Multiple Units for Govia Thameslink Railway (data sheet, article no. MOML-T10055-00-7600) Siemens Mobility, 2018 (print code DB 0818)the drawing's pantograph: car 5, its end, length, folded height and roof well (measured off the side view)
- Class 700 Drivers Manual (final disclosure extract) Govia Thameslink Railway (released under FOI2026-3260), September 2026, p. PDF p. 9 (both cab ends)the Desiro City cab front's silhouette (set CA, desirocity; measured)
- 3008 Southeastern Class 707 design definition (rev 1.4), with drawings 3008.101.1.1.C 'Livery + Decal Scheme' (1:50, rev P2) and 3008.105.1.3.A front end Creactive Design for Southeastern (released under FOI: 'Livery Designs'), June 2021, pp. 4 (drawing 3008.101.1.1.C, the leading DMOS)the Desiro City cab front's silhouette (set CA, desirocity; measured)
- 717003-GordonHill-P1531392 (46138241314).jpg (photograph, CC0) Wikimedia Commons (citytransportinfo, via Flickr), 22 January 2019the front's proud lower nose and the crease above it (set CA, desirocity; layout only)
- 717003-GordonHill-P1531392 (46138241314).jpg (photograph, CC0) Wikimedia Commons (citytransportinfo, via Flickr), 22 January 2019the cab: the dark roof and dome (set CA, desirocity; layout only)
- 717003-GordonHill-P1531392 (46138241314).jpg (photograph, CC0) Wikimedia Commons (citytransportinfo, via Flickr), 22 January 2019the cab: how little of the black front shows side on (set CA, desirocity; layout only)
- 717003-GordonHill-P1531392 (46138241314).jpg (photograph, CC0) Wikimedia Commons (citytransportinfo, via Flickr), 22 January 2019the cab: the cantrail line, one line over the cab (set CA, desirocity; layout only)
- 700031, Finsbury Park, May 29th 2025.jpg (photograph, CC BY-SA 4.0) Southsea_Matt, via Wikimedia Commons, 29 May 2025the cab door's foot and its window (set T2, T212; measured, 3.604 mm a pixel)
- Reading - SWT 707004+707006 on test.JPG (photograph, CC BY-SA 4.0) Wikimedia Commons (Geof Sheppard), 27 February 2017the cab door's height and its window, checked on the same Desiro City door (set T2, T212; measured)
- 717 010 (photograph: Great Northern's 717 010 at speed beside a platform near a tunnel; CC BY-SA 2.0) Hugh Llewelyn, via Flickr (52036403030), 25 April 2022layout of the underframe equipment on the PTOS (car 5; layout only)
- Class 717 Desiro City EMU.jpg (photograph, CC BY-SA 4.0) Samson Ng (D201@EAL), via Wikimedia Commons, 14 June 2025a check of the order of the PTOS's underframe equipment (layout only)
- Britain's biggest train operator's services enter public ownership this weekend Department for Transport, 28 May 2026GTR's services, Great Northern among them, in public ownership from 31 May 2026
- Great Northern's Class 717 fleet receives go-ahead from ORR to operate with in-cab digital signalling GTR (press release, Mynewsdesk), 22 March 2023the ORR's authorisation (March 2023) for the Class 717s to carry passengers under ETCS Level 2 in-cab signalling, Northern City Line running to follow
- First passenger train runs with upgraded signalling on Northern City Line Rail Technology Magazine, 14 July 2025717020 the first passenger train on the upgraded ETCS software (Baseline 3), Finsbury Park to Moorgate, 8 July 2025; the rest of the fleet to follow
- Desiro City Class 717: Electrical Multiple Units for Govia Thameslink Railway (data sheet, article no. MOML-T10055-00-7600) Siemens Mobility, 2018 (print code DB 0818), p. 2the underframe cases of cars 2-4 (TOS, TOS(L)W, MOS), read off the side view (set T9, layout only)
- British Rail Class 700 Wikipedia, read 13 October 2026the livery, its unit and its dates
- A Guide to Overhead Electrification (132787-ALB-GUN-EOH-000001, rev 10) Network Rail (prepared by Alan Baxter), February 2015, p. 39the contact wire in the In operation drawing: 15 ft 5 in (4.7 m) above rail, Network Rail's normal height
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unverified
- Car lengths: no figure per car is printed for the 717; these are the Class 707's (Angel Trains: 67 ft 4 in (20.52 m) and 66 ft 2 in (20.16 m)), which add up to Siemens' 399 ft (121.674 m) unit length to within 6 mm
- Car height: no figure has been published for the 717 (left blank)
- Wheelbases (7 ft 3 in (2.2 m) motor, 6 ft 11 in (2.1 m) trailer) and wheels (2 ft 8 in (820 mm) new, 2 ft 6 in (760 mm) worn) are Siemens' Desiro City figures, not printed for the 717
- The car codes DMOS, TOS, MOS and PTOS are Wikipedia's; Siemens names only the TOS(L)W, and its axle arrangement puts the motors in cars 1, 4 and 6. The pantograph on car 5 is read off Siemens' small drawing
- The drawing: no dimensioned drawing of the 717 has been published. It uses the Class 707's measured layout and the Class 700's cab outline, which Siemens' small side elevation of the 717 matches to about 65 mm; the height (not published for the 717) is the 707's 12 ft 4 in (3.77 m); colours from photographs
- The underframe: the PTOS read off one oblique photograph (positions to about 300 mm, heights to about 100 mm, the cases' set-in estimated) and checked for order only on a second; the TOS, TOSW and MOS are laid out from Siemens' 717 side view (layout only) because no photograph found shows them; the photograph shows the unit's other side (car 6 at the left), drawn mirrored on the turned PTOS
- Whether the 362 seats include the 15 tip-ups: GTR (2018) says they do, Siemens' data sheet says they don't
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