Northern Powerhouse

New Hitachi rolling stock unveiled by Hull Trains as part of £60m investment

Hull Trains has unveiled its new fleet of hi-tech Hitachi trains which will replace its current ageing fleet of Class 180s in 2019 as part of a £60m investment.

The train operator has given a first glimpse of the new rolling stock which comes with increased seating capacity, enhanced interiors, and faster speeds – with the trains based on Japanese bullet train technology.

Hull Trains has come under fire in recent months due to issues and disruption with the current Class 180 fleet, and has also announced that it has acquired one of GWR’s high-speed intercity trains (HST) to be implemented into service over the next few weeks as a continency.

The new Class 802 trains will be introduced from December 2019, and were built in Japan and prepared for service in Italy before travelling to the UK ready for staff training.

The managing director for Hull Trains, Louise Cheeseman, said: “Everyone that is involved with Hull Trains, from customers, key stakeholders and our team, is getting very excited about the arrival of our new trains.

“We’ve worked very closely with Hitachi to make our vision for these trains a reality and we can already see the amazing changes that they will make to our customers’ journeys.

“These trains will transform travel between London and Hull and we cannot wait until they are here.”

The trains will offer free Wi-Fi on all services, but the livery and the interiors will look different than shown in the photos.

Hull Trains called the arrival of the HST “a boost for the company” and said it was working around the clock to tackle the reliability challenges that has troubled the operator throughout 2018.

The intercity 125 train will enter service ahead of the delivery of the new fleet and is currently undergoing final works.

Cheeseman added that the new train was an “important milestone for Hull Trains and demonstrates Hull Trains’ and FirstGroup’s commitment to addressing our recent challenges so that we can get back to delivering the great service we are renowned for.”

“I hope that it will help to reassure our customers that we are committed to providing a strong service that they can rely upon.”