New trains expected 'before New Year'

Long-suffering rail passengers had expected the new rolling stock to start replacing the old slam-door carriages in August when their arrival was heralded in glossy leaflets at train stations.

However, months passed and the new trains were nowhere in sight. Operator South Central revealed there had been technical problems with the state-of-the-art carriages' automatic doors.

Then test runs revealed the new doors would slow down the service.

A South Central spokesman explained: 'We have been carrying out extensive testing of the new train between Brighton and Portsmouth.

'During the testing it was apparent that the new trains were unable to keep to the existing timetable because of the high number of stations and the fact that the new trains' doors take longer to operate.

'Having recognised this, we took the decision to modify the trains to speed the door operating process. This is an issue unique to our Coastway services.

'We are now working hard to have the first of our new trains in service before the New Year.'