HS2

Hitachi gets to work on bodyshells for Virgin’s Azuma Class 800s

Hitachi has today started work on Virgin Trains’ new fleet of Azuma Class 800s that are due to enter service on the east coast in 2018.

Engineers at Hitachi’s factory in Kasado, Japan, have begun building the bodyshells ahead of trains being shipped to the UK for construction by a team of 900 employees at the company’s Newton Aycliffe facility in summer.

The 65-strong fleet of Azuma trains will provide passengers with an extra 12,200 seats, as well as quicker services and create new direct routes, such as between London and Middlesbrough.

It will also increase the number of through services from London to destinations including Bradford, Harrogate and Lincoln.

David Horne, managing director of Virgin Trains on the east coast, said: “We are very excited to be moving closer to the day when our fantastic new train comes into service.

“The arrival of Azuma in 2018 will mark another milestone on our journey towards totally transforming travel for our customers, and the work happening now in Kasado and beginning in the summer at Newton Aycliffe are important steps on that journey.”

And Karen Boswell, managing director at Hitachi Rail Europe, commented that the new Azuma fleet would be a combination of Japanese design and British manufacturing.

“The trains are built using Japanese bullet train technology, world famous for its quality and reliability,” she added. “We are proud that our Newton Aycliffe team, based a short distance from the East Coast main line, will work on pioneering trains used by millions of passengers.”

Today’s news also follows work beginning at Stevenage station to extend the platform to accommodate for the length of Virgin’s new additions.

And at the start of the year, Durham station was closed to get its own upgrade to allow for Virgin’s new Azuma rolling stock.

Last month, Virgin also announced that it would be joining forces with Stagecoach and SNCF to submit a bid for the HS2 West Coast Partnership route.

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