GWR ‘802’ PRODUCTION KICKS OFF
HITACHI HAS received the first bodyshell for Great Western Railway’s fleet of Class 802 bi-mode trains, being built at its Pistoia factory in Italy.
The order supplements the Department for Transport’s Inter-city Express (IEP) procurement of 57 Class 800 trains and will be used primarily on services between London and the West Country. A total of 22x5-car and 14x9-car units has been ordered, and the fleet will be phased into passenger service from summer 2018, with the final train entering service in 2019.
The IEP fleet, comprising 36x5-car and 21x9-car units, is mostly being assembled at Hitachi’s Newton Aycliffe plant in County Durham. However, with this site at capacity, the additional units ordered by GWR are being built at the Pistoia facility that Hitachi acquired from Ansaldo in 2016; the original intention had been to build the ‘802’ fleet at Kasado in Japan. The Pistoia plant has previously built high-speed fleets including the Frecciarossa (‘Red Arrow’) trains for Trenitalia under the Ansaldo banner.
The majority of the ‘802’ order was placed by GWR in 2015 as part of its direct award franchise, and the fleet is being financed by Eversholt Rail. An additional 7x…
