Thameslink Class 700/0

Last month, we asked James to give us an update on the Class 700, and he went ham on it. This time around, we have a release date for you, pricing information, sounds, and a teaser video sharing what you can expect.

James: “That’s right it’s me, back at it again with Class 700 news, and let’s kick things off with the most important update of the day, everyone’s favourite Desiro City is coming to Train Sim World 3 on July 11th!”

“The Thameslink BR Class 700/0 will be available on all platforms, for £12.99/ €15.99/ $16.99, and we will also have bundle options available to pick up the ultimate Kent High Speed experience!”

“As the countdown begins for more commuter action in the Medway Towns, I also have another little gift up my sleeve for you all, foster your foresight into the inner workings of the Class 700 with the manual! Be prepared for July 11th by familiarising yourself with the cab controls, procedures and included gameplay.”

Download the manual!

“To get a glimpse of the 700 in action, we will have a RailfanTV preview stream in 2 days’ time, July 6th at 1800 UTC, where Matt, JD and yours truly will showcase the all-new unit. If you just cannot wait that long though, never fear, as we also have a walkaround video which we can share with you today. See the Class 700 in action, including its dual-voltage capabilities”

“With the Class 700 releasing in a week’s time, the unit is essentially feature, physics and sounds complete – the Desiro City’s are certainly interesting to drive, much like the Class 395 the difference between AC and DC acceleration is noticeable, but what is a common factor throughout are the brakes. They, have, oomph; the fastest I’ve personally approached a station so far is close to 50mph, and I still made the stop! So while being daring is not a recommended driving practice, it’s certainly good fun to put the 700 through its paces in various conditions.”

“For the sounds, a mix of sources have been vital to our efforts, including files from the detailed Armstrong Powerhouse soundset. The distinctive DC traction motors are my favourite, with an extra twist compared to older UK Desiros, the motor phase sound change happens at 28mph rather than 20, which makes it a handy notifier for your speed approaching the limit through the dense Medway towns!”

“The Class 700 will complete the passenger experience on Southeastern Highspeed, bringing an additional 80+ services and a bumper-pack of 7 scenarios. Being a familiar sight to thousands every day, including many of us here at DTG, it’s been a labour of love – the seats might be a bit stiff, they might just be a way of getting from A to B, but they’re solid, effective, and plain old good fun!”

Thanks, James! We have some additional things worth mentioning, which we’ll discuss more on the preview stream on Thursday.

During the testing window, we’ve identified some difficulties with performance on certain consoles (specifically Xbox Series S) with all the new services being added to Southeastern High Speed. As a result, we will be providing a full timetable, and a smaller, less memory-demanding timetable, which will mainly remove some static stock and less-visible AI services.

Players will have the smaller timetable by default in Journey Mode, and the option to try the more memory-intensive timetable in the services menu!

And finally, by way of an update, we’ve not been able to put the Thameslink Stop Markers we mentioned in last month’s Roadmap into the launch release for the Class 700, but they are firmly in our sights for an update further down the line.

The Preview is at 18:00 UTC this Thursday (6th July), so set your alarms and join us!

This blog was created by Simon Schofield