News - Hitachi
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The first of 29 refurbished high-speed trains on southeastern's flagship route between London St Pancras and Kent has re-entered service heralding a £27 million upgrade for Britain's fastest passenger trains as part of the train operator's commitment to deliver a better, more reliable, and more sustainable service.
Unit 395012, well-known to many as the 'Trainbow', entered the train operator's Ashford train maintenance depot on 12th June to have interior refresh work carried out, and emerged from the workshops today to be followed by another 28 trains over the coming months. (Permalink) Hitachi southeastern  Ashford International: A Southeastern Class 395 six car Javelin set heads towards London on HS1 shortly after leaving Ashford International. The photo was taken from Westwell Lane road bridge in Tutt Hill on 28 October 2010 ... |
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Avanti West Coast's new Hitachi-made fleet marked a major milestone yesterday with its first journey to North Wales.
(Permalink) Avanti West Coast Bi-mode Class 805 Hitachi Llandudno Junction |
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Avanti West Coast's new Hitachi trains make their first appearance on the West Coast Main Line.
(Permalink) Avanti West Coast Class 805 Hitachi  Scorton [Lancashire] [2nd]: The first new Hitachi hybrid for Avanti West Coast, 805001, made a first test or training run from Oxley to Glasgow Central and back on 6th February 2023. The unliveried set is seen passing Scorton he ...  Hitachi Rail Europe Newton Aycliffe: The first of Avanti West Coast's new fleet of trains has begun dynamic testing at Network Rail’s Rail Innovation and Development Centre (RIDC) in Leicestershire.
In a major milestone for the ...  Carstairs South Junction: 805001 nears Carstairs South Junction, with an Oxley to Glasgow Central test run for Avanti West Coast, on 7th February 2023.
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Hull Trains has been named Best in Class at a national awards ceremony to recognise the most reliable fleets in the railway industry. The Hitachi built and maintained (Class 802s) Paragon fleet won the award due to the high levels of reliability achieved across 2022.
The Golden Spanner awards, organised by trade publication Modern Railways, celebrate the best of rolling stock maintenance and practices, paying tribute to those companies making the greatest strides in train reliability on behalf of passengers. (Permalink) Class 802 Hitachi Hull Trains |
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ScotRail and Hitachi Rail today celebrated four years of Class 385 passenger service, which has delivered record reliability and shorter journey times for passengers on Scotland's Central Belt.
(Permalink) Class 385 Hitachi ScotRail  Edinburgh Park: A Class 385, from Dunblane perhaps, reaches the city proper at Edinburgh Park on 14 April 2021. Office development in Edinburgh Park itself advances southwards and could well reach the station by the ...  Camelon: If it were human, only a mother could love it. A Class 385 pulls into Camelon with a Glasgow to Edinburgh service on 6 June 2019.  Edinburgh Waverley: 385003 about to leave platform 16 with the 1415 to Glasgow Queen Street on the first day of Class 385 passenger operation - 24th July 2018.
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Work progressing well on Avanti West Coast's new fleet of trains in readiness for entry into service in 2023.
(Permalink) Avanti West Coast Hitachi |
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Hitachi is to further develop on-train track monitoring equipment for Network Rail.
(Permalink) Hitachi Track monitoring |
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The North East of England will again be at the forefront of railway manufacturing as it was today confirmed the brand new HS2 trains would be built in Newton Aycliffe.
The Government today revealed Hitachi/Alston JV had won the £2bn contract with County Durham playing a huge role in the assembly of 54 'bullet trains.' It is understood around 2,500 jobs across the region, the UK and wider supply chain will be created as a result of the contract to build. (Permalink) HS2 Hitachi Newton Aycliffe |
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The new digital system will improve service reliability on journeys in Gloucestershire.
(Permalink) Gloucester Hitachi Resignalling |
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Disruption to Scotland-London rail services due to cracks in trains is expected to continue for weeks.
(Permalink) Cancellations Class 800 GWR Hairline cracks Hitachi LNER |
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Passengers on Britain's intercity rail services face a third day of disruption as engineers continued to check high-speed trains for cracks. Trains between London and the south-west and between London and Scotland on the East Coast line are affected.
(Permalink) Cancellations Class 800 GWR Hairline cracks Hitachi LNER |
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Several ScotRail trains have been found to have hairline cracks as part a widespread safety investigation also affecting other operators such as LNER, The Scotsman has learned.
(Permalink) Class 385 Hairline cracks Hitachi ScotRail |
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Rail passengers in parts of the UK are continuing to experience delays after a number of high-speed trains have been removed from service due to hairline cracks.
(Permalink) Cancellations Class 800 GWR Hairline cracks Hitachi LNER |
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Hitachi apologises after cracks found in some of its trains lead to services being cancelled. [See also item on 27/04/2021 and the Railway Magazine of 03/05/2021.]
(Permalink) Cancellations Class 800 GWR Hairline cracks Hitachi LNER  Clayhills Yard: Saturday's 07:52 & 09:52 LNER Azuma trains parked up at Clayhills due to cracks being found in the Class 800 bogies. |
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Rail passengers are being told to cancel travel plans after a number of high-speed Scotland-London trains had to be taken out of service as a 'precautionary measure' when hairline cracks were found.
(Permalink) Cancellations Class 800 GWR Hairline cracks Hitachi LNER |
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Cracks were discovered during routine maintenance of two Hitachi 800 trains.
(Permalink) Class 800 GWR Hairline cracks Hitachi |
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The Class 800/801/802 inter-city trainsets supplied and maintained by Hitachi are to be fitted with a new generation of brake pads and discs which has been developed by Knorr-Bremse to improve brake system performance and reduce life-cycle costs by facilitating longer maintenance intervals.
(Permalink) Class 800 Class 801 Class 802 Hitachi Knorr-Bremse |
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'Our aspiration is to do more and continue to advance high-speed train technology and the benefit they can offer passengers around the world,' - Nick Hughes.
(Permalink) Hitachi Newton Aycliffe |
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North east of England is 'synonymous with the best trains in the world' according to Hitachi's Newton Aycliffe factory's local MP
(Permalink) Hitachi Newton Aycliffe |
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Thursday 3rd September marks the five year anniversary of Hitachi Rail officially opening its state-of-the-art train manufacturing factory in Newton Aycliffe. From the empty shell that was opened by then Prime Minister David Cameron, the team has built 192 trains over the last five years that are now in service.
(Permalink) Hitachi Newton Aycliffe |
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Transport operator FirstGroup has announced that it has procured new trains and a team for First Rails new Edinburgh-London service.
The new service will be an open-access venture that will offer high-quality and low-cost direct service connecting Edinburgh and London. It will begin operations late next year. This rail line is expected to offer electric trains as a cheaper and sustainable mode of transport when compared with air-based travel. Additionally, the first train of the new five-car Hitachi electric fleet for the new service has been delivered for assembly at the manufacturers Newton Aycliffe facility. (Permalink) FirstGroup Hitachi |
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In December, ScotRail accepted into service the last of the 70 Class 385 EMUs that Abellio had ordered from Hitachi in a £475 million contract. This was signed in April 2015, just before the company took over the ScotRail franchise. The completion of this order, together with the introduction of HSTs on Scottish intercity routes ...
(Permalink) Class 385 Hitachi ScotRail |
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Hull Trains five Class 802/3s will be known as Paragons, following a staff competition.
HT On-Board Experience Manager Patrick Tobin suggested the name for the fleet, which recognises both its significance to Hull (named after Paragon Interchange), and the words definition. (Permalink) Class 802 Class 803 Hitachi Hull Trains Paragons  Hull: Hull Paragon station is impressive from any angle and contains lots of interesting features, not least this waiting room on one of the platforms. A Trans Pennine Clas 170 is waiting alongside for its ...  Hull: Paragon signal box on the approach to Hull station in 2009. View south from Park Street bridge.  Hull: Scene at Hull Paragon station on a freezing cold January morning in 1980. Station pilot 03063 takes time out during a quiet period to catch up with the morning's news. |
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Five organisations are bidding for a contract to design, manufacture and maintain the trains for the first phase of HS2. The original list was Alstom, Bombardier, Hitachi, Siemens and Talgo. When Bombardier and Hitachi decided to make a joint bid, CAF was added to the list to maintain five bidders.
(Permalink) Alstom Bombardier CAF HS2 Hitachi Siemens Talgo |
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InterCity East Coast operator LNER has received approval for its Class 800 Azumas to enter passenger service, conditional on final testing being completed. The Office of Road and Rail has written to manufacturer Hitachi Rail Europe, giving authorisation for theRead more
(Permalink) Azuma Class 800 Hitachi LNER |
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Bombardier Transportation and Hitachi Rail have announced they will form a joint venture to compete for the £2.75 billion contract.
(Permalink) Bombardier HS2 Hitachi |
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Once a final design for new windscreens has been approved for ScotRail Class 385s, the modifications will be carried out at Knorr-Bremse Rail Services at Springburn.
The electric multiple units, built by Hitachi, are currently unable to enter traffic after problems were encountered with the drivers view during mileage accumulation testing. (Permalink) Class 385 Hitachi Knorr-Bremse Rail Services St Rollox Works  Edinburgh Waverley: A full-size mock up of the interior of ScotRail's new class 385s has been erected at Edinburgh Waverley's east end, seen here on 10 February 2016. This features first and standard class seating.  Gourock: One of the new ScotRail Class 385 electric multiple units, which can be regularly seen at Gourock where they are currently being tested overnight. Photograph taken on 9 January 2017. (Pictures are al ...  Glasgow Queen Street High Level: Mock up image of a Hitachi Rail Europe Class 385 AT200 train for Abellio's ScotRail franchise at Queen Street. 70 of these are due to enter service in 2017/2018. |
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With around 7,000 new rail vehicles on order to replace more than half of the passenger rolling stock fleet, Britains trains are about to change as never before. Scotland is no exception. In 2018, Hitachis Class 385 electric multiple units (EMUs) will replace the Class 170 diesel multiple units (DMUs) on the Edinburgh to Glasgow main line. Once further electrification is completed, more Class 385s will displace DMUs on services to Dunblane and through Shotts.
This year will also see some of the iconic British Rail High Speed Trains (HSTs) get a new lease of life as specially refurbished four and five-car sets operating on Scottish Inter-City services. (Permalink) Alloa Class 170 Class 385 Dunblane Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway Electrification HST Hitachi Shotts Stirling  Haymarket MPD: Maintenance work in progress in the new shed at Haymarket on 13 February 2007. The facility had been officially opened during a ceremony earlier that day by Transport Minister Tavish Scott, accompanie ...  Craigentinny Depot: Scene at Craigentinny on 23 June as 66132 passes on the main line with the empty Binliner containers from Oxwelmains returning to Powderhall, while West Coast Railway locomotives 47826 and 3302 ...  Clayhills Yard: Looking over the servicing and stabling areas to the south of Aberdeen station on Sunday 5 November 2006 with a ScotRail 170 DMU receiving attention. The station itself is off picture to the left and ... |
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The latest generation of Intercity Express trains arrived at the Inverness depot for the first time yesterday ahead of its introduction later this year.
It is hoped that Hitachi's 'train with a brain' will offer greater comfort, shorter journeys and be much kinder to the environment while its on board computer will make it safer. Designated the British Rail Class 800, it incorporates technology from Japan's famous 'bullet trains' and is part of the UK government's £5.7 billion Intercity Express Programme. (Permalink) Class 800 Hitachi Inverness |
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Scotland's Edinburgh - Glasgow Improvement Programme (Egip) celebrated a milestone on December 10 with the start of electric services from Glasgow Queen Street to Edinburgh Waverley via Falkirk High.
ScotRail has replaced the class 170 DMUs previously used on these services with class 380 EMUs, although the use of these trains on the route is a temporary measure pending the introduction of new Hitachi class 385 EMUs next year. (Permalink) Class 170 Class 380 Class 385 EGIP Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway Electrification Hitachi |
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UK: A prominent feature at the front of the Hitachi Rail Europe stand at Railtex 2017 is a model of its AT400 British Bullet Train concept.
Hitachi said this 'vision' builds on the company's 'rich history in creating iconic high speed rolling stock' ranging from Shinkansen trainsets in Japan to the ETR1000 units for Trenitalia, the last of which has just been dispatched from the manufacturers Pistoia plant. This has been blended with UK engineering 'to turn this initial concept into a formalised model'. Hitachi said this combination of experience and innovation would meet the objectives set out for the procurement of rolling stock for High Speed 2. (Permalink) AT400 HS2 Hitachi |
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Test trains for the new fleet of Intercity Express Trains on the Great Western Railway (GWR) in the South West have left Japan, heading for the UK.
The new train is for use on the line linking Paddington to Exeter and Cornwall via Reading and Newbury. It is part of what GWR describes as the 'biggest fleet upgrade in a generation', aimed at reducing journey times and increasing capacity. The Class 802 fleet is due to enter passenger service next summer. (Permalink) Class 802 GWR Great Western Railway Hitachi |
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Hitachi Rail Europe announced on February 15 that production has begun at Hitachi Rail Italys Pistoia plant on the first of 36 class 802 inter-city trains for Great Western Railway (GWR).
In 2015 GWR placed a £361m order through leasing company Eversholt Rail for 22 five-car and seven nine-car trains. An option for seven additional nine-car sets was subsequently exercised in August 2016. The trains will be introduced on services from London Paddington to Exeter, Plymouth and Penzance from December 2018. (Permalink) Class 802 Eversholt Rail GWR Great Western Railway Hitachi |
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ScotRail has unveiled the first in a fleet of electric trains the company is billing as 'faster, longer and greener'.
The Class 385 train, which was built by Hitachi, is the first of 70 that will operate on Scotland's busiest route from Edinburgh to Glasgow via Falkirk. They will also be used between Stirling, Alloa and Dunblane, as well as some routes south of Glasgow. Night testing of the train will start this week, ScotRail said. (Permalink) Alloa Class 385 Dunblane Electrification Hitachi Stirling Glasgow Queen Street High Level: Mock up image of a Hitachi Rail Europe Class 385 AT200 train for Abellio's ScotRail franchise at Queen Street. 70 of these are due to enter service in 2017/2018. |
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The first UK-built Intercity Express (IEP) train has rolled off the production line.
The train was showcased at the Hitachi Rail Europe factory in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham on Friday. It is one of 122 express trains which are part of the Government-funded £5.7 billion IEP programme designed to boost capacity, reliability and comfort for passengers by replacing the current trains on the Great Western and East Coast rail networks. (Permalink) Hitachi  Newton Aycliffe: Hitachi Rail Europe celebrates the first Intercity Express (IEP) train to be built in the UK at its manufacturing facility in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham. |
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The Digital Railway programme has hit a major milestone as Hitachi Rail Europe began testing digital technology on its Intercity Express Programme (IEP) trains, set to enter passenger services on the Great Western route from next year.
The intercity trains are fitted with digital signalling designed to boost capacity and relieve overcrowding as part of the DfTs ambitious Digital Railway programme. A Class 800 train (800 802) has now entered testing stage at Network Rails signalling facility ENIF, in Hitchin. (Permalink) Class 800 Hitachi |
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More than 15,000 people have applied for 78 jobs driving new trains being launched by Virgin.
The company said there were almost 200 applications for every vacancy following the biggest recruitment campaign on the East Coast route since the 1980s. The 78 new drivers will work from depots between Edinburgh and London. They will work on new Azuma trains, built in the UK by Hitachi, which are to be launched in 2018. [From Richard Buckby] (Permalink) Hitachi |
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The Class 385 electric trains are due to arrive in Scotland next month for testing and go into service on the main Edinburgh-Glasgow line via Falkirk in a year's time. One has been tested at the Velim test track in the Czech Republic since last month, where it has reached its 100mph top operating speed. Another train - without interiors - has arrived at Teesport after being shipped by sea from Japan. Most of the 70-strong fleet will be assembled at Hitachi’s nearby factory at Newton Aycliffe in County Durham. Driver training is due to start in Scotland in the spring.
(Permalink) Class 385 Hitachi ScotRail |
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MTU, a division of Rolls-Royce, will continue supplying PowerPacks for the Hitachi trains used on the Intercity Express Programme (IEP) after a new long-term contract was announced today.
The company will provide additional MTU Series 1600 PowerPacks on top of 250 packs it was originally contracted to deliver for the Class 800 and 801 trains in 2012. It will also assume responsibility for their maintenance “ both preventative and any repairs or major overhauls “ from 2017, under a contract set to last the 27.5 years of Hitachi's service and maintenance contract for the IEP. (Permalink) Class 800 Class 801 Hitachi MTU Rolls-Royce |
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RMT and ASLEF are recommending that their members accept a staffing agreement on ScotRail trains in the central belt which keeps conductors in their traditional 'safety critical' role.
The RMT said new Hitachi trains for the Edinburgh-Glasgow electrification are to be modified with the installation of conductors' door control panels. (Permalink) Hitachi ScotRail |
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TESTING has started at the Velim test track in the Czech Republic of the first of 70 class 385 EMUs being built by Hitachi Rail Europe for the ScotRail franchise operated by Abellio.
This is the first of six four-car trains being built by Hitachi at its Kasado factory in Japan. The remainder of the order for 24 four-car and 46 three-car EMUs will be produced at Hitachi’s new factory in Newton Aycliffe, Britain. (Permalink) Abellio Class 385 Hitachi ScotRail |
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THE first of 70 class 385 regional EMUs has begun its journey from Hitachi’s Kasado plant in Japan to Europe.
Seven of the trains are being built at Kasado, where fabrication of bodyshells began last October, while the remaining 63 sets will be assembled at the company's new British facility at Newton Aycliffe in northeast England. [From Richard Buckby] (Permalink) Class 385 Hitachi ScotRail |
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UK: Bombardier Transportation and Hitachi Rail Europe have formed a joint venture to bid to supply rolling stock under London Underground’s New Tube for London programme. Bids are due to be submitted on September 26.
Both companies prequalified for the contract, along with Alstom, CAF and Siemens. The basic requirement is for 250 trainsets, which on a like-for-like replacement basis equates to around 1 700 cars. However, bidders see the potential for up to 3 000 cars with provision for growth. According to Hitachi, assembly work would be shared between the companies’ plants at Derby and Newton Aycliffe. (Permalink) Hitachi |
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Franchised passenger operator Great Western Railway and leasing company Eversholt Rail confirmed an order for an additional seven electro-diesel trainsets from Hitachi Rail Europe on August 3.
The new trainsets will be built at Hitachi Rail Italy's Pistoia plant. They are in addition to the 57 trainsets which Hitachi is providing for GWR from 2017 under the government's Intercity Express Programme, and GWR's separately-financed order for a further 29 trainsets to enter service in 2018. [From Richard Buckby] (Permalink) GWR Hitachi  |
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A NEW high speed train has been unveiled by Great Western Railway to celebrate 175 years since welcoming its first passengers between Bristol and London.
Before coming into service in 2017, one of the new Hitachi built engines was put on display as it travelled through the county from Reading to London Paddington. The trains will include more seats, free wifi, power sockets for each seat and increased luggage space and will run on the electrified Great Western Line when it is completed. (Permalink) Hitachi |
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A trainbuilder has tested its new train on North-East lines for the first time, The Northern Echo can reveal.
Hitachi Rail Europe has driven rolling stock on tracks at Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, in a move bosses say represents a landmark moment in their £82m venture. The engine, a Class 800, will eventually deliver services on the East Coast and Great Western lines as part of the Governments InterCity Express Programme (IEP) to revamp high-speed routes. (Permalink) Class 800 Hitachi |
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First TransPennine Express Ltd has awarded Hitachi Rail Europe and leasing company Angel Trains a contract to supply 19 five-car AT300 electro-diesel multiple units for use on the TransPennine Express franchise in northern England from December 2019.
The contract was announced on March 31, the day before the new TransPennine Express franchise starts. FirstGroup said the AT300 would be 'amongst the most advanced inter-city trains in the UK', and 'completely remodel the experience of train travel in the North'. The AT300 trainset will be 'closely related' to the Class 800 electro-diesel trainsets being supplied under the Department for Transport's Intercity Express Programme, but to cope with the gradients on the TransPennine network they will utilise higher engine operating power, and be equipped with larger fuel tanks and brake resistors. They will have a service speed of 200 km/h, but with the capability for running at 225 km/h subject to the provision of suitable infrastructure. (Permalink) AT300 Class 800 First TransPennine Express Hitachi |
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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. (Permalink) Azuma Class 800 Hitachi Virgin Trains |
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New trains with faster acceleration will cut journey times on the East Coast Main Line by up to 22 minutes.
The Virgin Azuma Trains, which will be launched in 2018, will enable passengers to travel between Edinburgh and London in four hours. They will accelerate from 0-125mph almost a minute faster than the current fleet. Sir Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Group, unveiled the first of the new trains at London King's Cross. The 65 trains will be built by Japanese firm Hitachi at its manufacturing plant in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham. Azuma is the Japanese translation for 'east'. (Permalink) Hitachi |
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The first AT200 in ScotRail’s 70-train fleet order is currently undergoing testing in Hitachi’s Japan plant, RTM can reveal.
The amount of trains set to be built domestically has also increased from 63 to 64 to ensure “increased delivery†and to take advantage of the expanded manufacturing happening locally, Hitachi’s production director, Jon Veitch, told RTM. The first bodyshell of the 70-EMU fleet, which Hitachi previewed earlier this year, is also expected to be shipped to the UK next month. (Permalink) Class 385 Hitachi ScotRail |
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Two weeks after it unveiled the Class 385 bodyshells, ScotRail has revealed the interiors of the Hitachi electric multiple units it will introduce into traffic from next year.
A full-size mock-up of the ‘385’ has gone on display at Edinburgh Waverley. It was unveiled by Scottish Transport Minister Derek Mackay on February 10 and remains on display until March 4. (Permalink) Class 385 Hitachi ScotRail |
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UK: The first of 70 Class 385 electric multiple-units ordered by Abellio for the ScotRail franchise is now under construction at Hitachi’s factory at Kasado in Japan. The first seven of the 25 kV 50 Hz EMUs are to be built in Kasado, with the remaining 63 to be produced at Hitachi’s UK plant in Newton Aycliffe.
(Permalink) Abellio Class 385 Hitachi ScotRail |
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Hitachi announced on December 22 that the AT300 trainsets ordered for Great Western Railway are to be manufactured at Hitachi Rail Italy's plant at Pistoia in Italy.
GWR and leasing company Eversholt Rail signed the £361m contract for the trainsets in July, before Hitachi's acquisition of AnsaldoBreda was completed in November. (Permalink) GWR Hitachi |
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More than 3,700 new train carriages, which represent an investment of £9.3 billion, will be delivered onto the UK rail network over the next four years.
The figure was announced by Rail Delivery Group (RDG) chief executive Paul Plummer following analysis of new train orders. The research takes into account the 866 new intercity train carriages from Hitachi for the East Coast and Great Western main lines and the 594 commuter carriages being built by Bombardier for Crossrail. There are also large rolling stock orders expected in the near future for the Northern and TransPennine routes, Merseyrail and East Anglia. [From Richard Buckby] (Permalink) Hitachi |
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The first overhead wires of the Great Western Main Line electrification project have gone up near Reading.
Network Rail engineers began the installation on November 12 between Pangbourne and Tilehurst - the section which will be used by Hitachi to test its Class 800 Intercity Express trains. A mile of earth wire was installed, becoming the first section of OLE to go up beyond the existing catenary at Airport Junction in Stockley, London. (Permalink) Class 800 Hitachi |
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The full fleet of AT200 electric multiple units could be bought for £1 by the Scottish Government after 25 years’ use.
The trains are being built by Hitachi, with seven under construction in Japan and the remaining 63 to be built at Newton Aycliffe. They will be used on newly electrified lines north of the border as part of the Edinburgh to Glasgow Improvement Programme (EGIP). (Permalink) Hitachi |
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THE new plant where hundreds of new rail vehicles are to be assembled for intercity and urban services in England, Scotland and Wales has been opened today.
The £82 million factory at Newton Aycliffe in Country Durham is owned by Hitachi, which is a key member of the consortium Agility Trains. [From Richard Buckby] (Permalink) Hitachi |
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Rail services are set to be disrupted as a strike by workers at First Great Western (FGW) gets under way.
Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) walked out for 24 hours from midnight as part of dispute over the introduction of new trains. They fear guards and buffet cars will be disposed of on FGW's new fleet of Hitachi Inter City Express trains. FGW has listed changes to its scheduled services, saying it intends to run 70% of its regular timetable. (Permalink) Hitachi |
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First Great Western rail workers are to stage strikes, including over the August Bank Holiday weekend, the Rail, Maritime and Transport union has said.
The RMT said the strike was being held over threats to jobs, services and safety from the introduction of the new Hitachi Intercity trains. The union said it had not received the assurances it required from FGW. The first Hitachi trains will run on the Great Western main line from 2017 and the East Coast main line from 2018. (Permalink) Hitachi Strike |
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THE Government has given its approval for a new fleet of hybrid trains which are being bought by First Great Western in an unusual privately-funded deal worth £360 million.
The fleet of 29 Hitachi AT300 units will be used on routes to the far south west, beyond the presently-planned limits of Great Western electrification, and will replace the current fleet of HSTs, which are now in their fourth decade and were unlikely to be worth upgrading for service beyond 2020, according to operator First Great Western. [From Richard Buckby] (Permalink) Hitachi |
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First Great Western rail workers have voted to support strike action over plans to axe guards and buffet cars on new Hitachi Inter City Express trains.
Members of the RMT union will walk out for 48 hours from 18:30 BST on 8 July. The union said a guard should be kept on every train, 'not a diluted customer service role', but First Great Western said having drivers controlling doors was safer and jobs would not be lost. In the ballot, 80% supported strike action and 92% other forms of action. (Permalink) Hitachi |
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This is what the new electric trains should look like when they run between London and Swansea.
The Hitachi Class 800 express train will run on the south Wales to London road when the electrification programme is completed in 2018. This computer-generated video and still images show what the trains will look like. (Permalink) Class 800 Hitachi |
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The construction of a train factory in County Durham has reached a significant milestone with the plant being connected to the main line network.
The £82m Hitachi factory in Newton Aycliffe will employ 750 people, with the first trains coming off the production line in 2017. (Permalink) Hitachi |
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NEW Bombardier Electrostars are included in the plans for the new First Great Western franchise, which will be a boost for jobs in Derby.
The main fleets for long-distance services will be Intercity Expresses and hybrid AT300s, both from Hitachi. However, Thames Valley electrification will need large numbers of suburban electric multiple units, some of which will be 21 Class 365s cascaded from Great Northern. Also heading west will be 29 Class 387 four-car sets, which are currently being delivered from Bombardier in Derby to Thameslink on a temporary basis. [From Richard Buckby] (Permalink) Bombardier Class 365 Class 387 Hitachi |
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A new Japanese train is arriving on British shores to replace the much loved InterCity 125. Will people take it to their hearts in the way they did its veteran predecessor?
(Permalink) Hitachi  Newcastle Central: An HST service to Bristol Temple Meads being prepared in advance of boarding at Newcastle Central in November 1994. The train is in BR InterCity 125 livery.  Dock Street Tunnel: A southbound HST approaching Dundee station in September 2006 is about to descend the incline into Dock Street Tunnel.  Cobbinshaw [2nd]: Due to closure of the east coast main line 43 049 heads an InterCity HST south towards Carstairs on the former Caledonian route in 1988. The train is passing the remains of Cobbinshaw station, closed ... |
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The first of 122 225km/h Super Express Trains (SETs) ordered by Britain's Department for Transport (DfT) as part of its Intercity Express Programme (IEP) left Hitachi's Kasado plant in Japan on January 7 by ship on the first leg of its journey to Britain.
The five-car bi-mode class 800 train is due to arrive at the port of Kobe on January 22 and will be transferred to a larger vessel for the remainder of its sea voyage to Southampton in southern England, where it will be unloaded in March. Trials are due to begin on the Old Dalby test track near Nottingham in April and the test programme will be managed by Hitachi Rail Europe. Three pre-series SETs and the first 10 production trains will be built in Japan before assembly switches to Hitachi's purpose-built £82m Newton Aycliffe plant in northeast England, which will assemble the remaining 109 trains. (Permalink) Class 800 Hitachi |
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A dutch transport group has confirmed that Hitachi Rail Europe is its preferred bidder for the construction of electric trains for Scotrail.
Rail operator Abellio, announced this week as the winner of the contract to run Scotland’s train services for the next decade, has enlisted the firm to build and supply 70 new electric trains for ScotRail, which will come into operation by December 2017. The firm will operate ScotRail services from April next year, taking over from Aberdeen-based FirstGroup, and said it will invest millions to improve trains, facilities and services. Hitachi will manufacture the 70 trains from its multi-million pound facility in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, which is currently under construction. (Permalink) Abellio Hitachi ScotRail |
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A massive contract to bring high-speed trains to the East Coast main line will include a £70m maintenance depot built in Doncaster creating 160 jobs.
Hitachi Rail Europe is set to take possession of Doncaster Carr next month before handing it over to a construction firm. The new depot, on land which has included a railway depot for more than 100 years, is set to open in early 2017. (Permalink) Hitachi |
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Japanese firm Hitachi has secured £2.7bn of funding for its contract to bring new high-speed trains to a key route between London and Edinburgh.
The UK government announced that nearly 500 carriages for the East Coast line will be built at Hitachi Rail Europe's factory in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham. [From Richard Buckby] (Permalink) Hitachi |
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Japanese electronics firm Hitachi says it will move its global rail business from Japan to the United Kingdom.
The firm says it hopes the move will help it to expand the rail business to 4,000 workers from the current 2,500. It plans to increase revenue from 2bn euros to 3bn euros ($4bn; £2.5bn) over the next few years. Last July, Hitachi won a £1.2bn deal to make the next generation of inter-city trains in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, where it is building a factory. That will initially employ 750 workers when it opens next year. [From Richard Buckby] (Permalink) Hitachi  Ashford International: One of the Hitachi Class 395 high speed electric sets operated by
Southeastern is seen on HS1 heading through Kent on a St Pancras to Ramsgate service on 28 October 2010.
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Bombardier has won a £1bn contract to provide trains for the Crossrail project, the government has announced.
The company will provide 65 trains for the Crossrail service, which is set to open in 2018. The trains will be manufactured and assembled at Bombardier's plant in Derby. The Department for Transport said Bombardier's contract would provide 760 manufacturing jobs and 80 apprenticeships. It also said that about 74% of the amount spent on the contract would stay in the UK economy. Bombardier beat Japan's Hitachi and Spain's CAF to secure the deal. [From Richard Buckby] (Permalink) Bombardier CAF Hitachi |
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THE first images showing the interior of Hitachi's North-East built express trains have been released, giving passengers a glimpse of the rolling stock that will run on the East Coast Main Line later this decade. Hitachi Rail Europe chose British firm DCA Design International to design the interiors of its new Super Express Trains as part of the Government's Inter City Express Programme(IEP) to revamp the UK's 40-year old high speed trains.
(Permalink) Hitachi |
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A £1.2bn deal to build new UK trains has been won by Hitachi Rail Europe.
The firm will build 270 carriages at a new factory in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, which will start production in 2016. The carriages are part of the class 800 series and will go into operation on the East Coast Main Line from 2019. (Permalink) Class 800 Hitachi  Drem: A Deltic at speed with a Kings Cross - Edinburgh train on the ECML near Drem in the 1960s. North Berwick Law stands in the left background.  Tollerton: The up 'Flying Scotsman' hurries past flooded fields on the approach to Tollerton, approximately 10 miles north of York, on 25 March 2010.  Joppa [2nd]: With only three miles to go, the non-stop London - Edinburgh 'Elizabethan' passes through Joppa on a fine summer's day in August 1959. The locomotive is one of Kings Cross shed's corridor-tende ... |
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The German engineering giant said it will not proceed with the procurement process for the new line linking east and west London because it is busy with other projects, such as building trains for Thameslink. This leaves Bombardier, Hitachi and Spanish group CAF in the bidding.
Siemens said on Friday it no longer had the capacity to deliver the 600 carriages required for the new line. [From Mark Bartlett and Richard Buckby] (Permalink) Bombardier CAF Hitachi Siemens |
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More than 900 jobs will be created as part of a £4.5bn contract to build and maintain new inter-city trains, the Department for Transport has said.
Agility Trains, a consortium made up of Japanese firm Hitachi and UK builder John Laing, will construct a new factory in County Durham. New maintenance depots will be built in Bristol, Swansea and Doncaster. (Permalink) Hitachi |
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CHANCELLOR George Osborne tonight confirmed that plans to bring a high-speed train manufacturing plant to County Durham were on track.
Mr Osborne's comments, made during a visit to Japan, came after concerns were raised last month that the plans for the factory in Newton Aycliffe could be in jeopardy. Transport Secretary Philip Hammond announced in March that the Hitachi-led Agility Trains consortium was the Government's chosen bidder for the Intercity Express Programme. [From Richard Buckby] (Permalink) Hitachi |
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Shares in Hitachi plummeted earlier today amid fears that the possible cancellation of £7.5 billion worth of train orders by the British Government could trigger similar capitulation by other countries.
(Permalink) Hitachi  Minster: A Hitachi Class 395 Javelin EMU passes Minster station on 6 March 2010 with one of the hourly London St Pancras to Margate services via Stratford Intl, Ebbsfleet Intl, Ashford Intl (all on HS1) ... |
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The Digital Railway programme has hit a major milestone as Hitachi Rail Europe began testing digital technology on its Intercity Express Programme (IEP) trains, set to enter passenger services on the Great Western route from next year.
The intercity trains are fitted with digital signalling designed to boost capacity and relieve overcrowding as part of the DfTs ambitious Digital Railway programme. A Class 800 train (800 802) has now entered testing stage at Network Rails signalling facility ENIF, in Hitchin. (Permalink) Class 800 Hitachi |
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