Date: 18/03/2016

The first Virgin Trains East Coast IEP (Intercity Express Programme) train passes through Hampstead Heath station on the North London Line after having attended a media event to launch these trains at London Kings Cross station.

Virgin Trains East Coast are marketing these trains as Azuma. which is Japanese for ^east^. The trains are part of the Hitachi A-Train family, most of them will be built in northern England.

The A-Train design concept includes several elements, the core features being that the vehicle car bodies (walls, roof, floor) are constructed from double skin aluminium extruded sections which are friction stir welded and the hollow extruded mounting rails on the vehicle body to which modular components can be attached.
Class 800 trains will travel on the East Coast Main Line between London Kings Cross and Scotland, plus the Great Western Main Line between London Paddington station and South Wales. They are electro-diesels which collect power from overhead wires when available and use onboard diesel traction when travelling on non-electrified sections of railway.

External links

Virgin Trains East Coast Azuma Train In Action!

Citytransportinfo

The first Virgin Trains East Coast IEP (Intercity Express Programme) train passes through Hampstead Heath station on the North London Line after having atten...

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Tags: x Hitachi x Class 800 x Virgin Trains x Azuma