Government confirms £1.2bn train deal with Hitachi Rail

The 30 nine-car electric trains will be manufactured in Britain by Hitachi Rail Europe at its new factory in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, as part of the government’s £5.8bn Intercity Express Programme (IEP).

Today’s confirmation to use Class 800 series trains instead of Intercity 225s follows last year’s announcement to replace the ageing fleet of Intercity 125 trains on the Great Western Main Line with the Hitachi Super Express Trains.

The department for transport claims benefits to passengers will include an 18 per cent boost in capacity and a cut in journey times between London, Leeds, Newcastle and Edinburgh of up to 18 minutes.

Hitachi has recently completed a deal to build its Newton Aycliffe factory with Merchant Place Developments and has said that it will be operational from 2015 with full production starting in 2016. The first batch of class 800 series trains will enter service on the Great Western Main Line in 2017 and on the East Coast Main Line in 2018.