08.04.19
Hull Trains loans another high-speed train as it waits for arrival of new £60m Hitachi fleet
Hull Trains has agreed to loan another high-speed train as it tries to avoid service disruption before the arrival of its new £60m fleet in November.
The train operator has loaned an additional intercity 125 HST from Great Western Railway (GWR) which will be included as part of its service in order to improve capacity and reliability.
The new unit will support another high-speed train on loan from GWR along with the other four trains the operator’s fleet up until November this year when five Hitachi 802 trains will enter service.
Hull Trains has been hit with a string of delays and cancellations in 2018, and currently one faulty unit can result in a change to its operating schedule and cause disruption.
GWR is currently introducing its own brand-new fleet of trains in the south-west, freeing up the HST.
Louise Cheeseman, managing director at Hull Trains, said: “Bringing the first HST into service has been extremely beneficial for Hull Trains and its customers – we have already seen more reliability and punctuality in our services.
“The HSTs do not only provide the additional resource which allows us to run our services, but it also allows us to reduce any strain on our current Class 180s until the new trains are launched in November.
“We would like to thank the teams at GWR and FirstGroup – their hard work has enabled us to secure this additional train.
“The train will continue to build on the fantastic service we strive to provide for our customers and provide greater assurance to those who travel with us.”