Dynamic testing of Avanti West Coast’s first Class 805 bi-mode unit has started at the Rail Innovation and Development Centre in Leicestershire.
The West Coast main line operator ordered 13 of the five-car Hitachi trains in 2020 for use on services on non-electrified lines such as the North Wales coast and Wolverhampton-Shrewsbury routes. It also ordered 10x7-car Class 807 trains for services from London Euston to Birmingham and Liverpool. The fleets will replace AWC’s Class 221 Voyager DEMUs.
No 805001 – in base colours – is expected to undergo tests at the RIDC for most of Nevember, and will be joined by No 805003 for further tests. Once complete, the units will move to Oxley depot in Wolverhampton for main line testing. Static testing on the trains started in June this year at Hitachi’s Newton Aycliffe factory.
Avanti says it expects the trains to enter revenue service in 2023.
