The first new Swiss-built train destined to enter service on Greater Anglia next year has been shown off at a test track in the Czech Republic.

The Stadler Flirt hybrid train – which will travel by electric power under wires and by diesel engine on rural lines – was shown off at a test track.

It is still an empty shell, but it is the first time the train has been seen operating.

Swiss-based Stadler is building a fleet of hybrid trains for rural routes, including Ipswich-Cambridge/Peterborough, Ipswich to Lowestoft and Ipswich to Felixstowe.

The company is also building a fleet of InterCity trains for the main line between London and East Anglia.

The new trains are due to start entering service in the middle of next year and to have taken over all those services by the start of 2020, allowing a major improvement in Greater Anglia’s timetables in December 2019.