New trains already causing delays

Commuters using Connex services into London face weeks of more delays before the arrival of the £1million-a-carriage new trains - because of continuing problems with the on-board computer systems.

Several deadlines for the Electrostar 375 trains, which are to replace old slam-door stock on the busiest commuter routes in the UK, have been missed. The trains, already nine months late, were to have started coming into service this month - but now it won't be until the beginning of March, and there is no guarantee that date will be met.

A Connex spokeswoman said: "We are desperate to start the new trains in service. If the current testing goes according to plan, then five of the four-carriage trains will come into service next month. But they have got to prove they are reliable before that happens."

Connex has had continuing problems with the new stock. Half the £200 million fleet is sitting in sidings, mostly at Ashford, and the rest are still at the manufacturer in Derby.