‘These trains have been designed to carry up to 1 750 people in climate-controlled comfort, which is essential to meet the huge growth in passenger numbers that have soared 40% in the past decade’, said GTR CEO Charles Horton. He also highlighted ‘their wide doors, open interiors and state-of-the-art real-time passenger information systems’, which would help GTR run a high-frequency service on the Thameslink route across London in 2018, offering 80% more seats. GTR hopes that this will encourage passengers to take advantage of the Class 700’s wider gangways, aisles and 2+2 seating configuration to move along the train to where there is more room.