Hitachi Class 800 InterCity Express train is welcomed to UK soil
DCA’s Technical Director, Rob Bassil, attended a ceremony at Southampton on Thursday to welcome the first of the new Hitachi Class 800 trains to the UK.
During the high-profile event at Southampton docks, Rail Minister Claire Perry said “It is hugely exciting to witness the arrival of the first state-of-the-art IEP train on British soil.“ She went on to highlight the effort that the DCA team in Warwick put into designing the train interiors to address the needs of persons of reduced mobility (PRM) as well as engaging with other passengers, drivers and all the other stakeholders. The Minister was joined by the Japanese Ambassador to the UK Government Keiichi Hayashi, Andy Barr (Chief Operating Officer, Hitachi Rail Europe) and Christopher Connor (Chief Executive Officer, Wallenius Wilhelmsen) who all also gave speeches.
Set to replace the Intercity 125 models on the East Coast Main Line by 2018, the first 12 trains are being made in Japan, after which production will switch to a new £82 million plant in County Durham for the remaining 110.
The recently arrived prototype train has now been taken to the north-east where it will be seen operating under test conditions and be used to train on-board staff from April.
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