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British Rail Class 800
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British Rail Class 800
The British Rail Class 800, branded as the Intercity Express Train (IET) by Great Western Railway (GWR) and Azuma by London North Eastern Railway (LNER), is a type of bi-mode multiple unit train built by Hitachi Rail for GWR and LNER. The type uses electric motors powered from overhead electric wires for traction, but also has diesel generators to enable trains to operate on unelectrified track. It is a part of the Hitachi AT300 product family.
The Class 800 was developed and produced, alongside an electric-only Class 801 variant, as part of the Intercity Express Programme (IEP) to procure replacements for the InterCity 125 and InterCity 225 fleets of high speed trains. The trains were manufactured by Hitachi between 2014 and 2018, being assembled at Hitachi's Newton Aycliffe Manufacturing Facility using bodyshells shipped from the company's Kasado Works in Japan. Similar bi-mode units have also been produced by Hitachi as Classes 802, 805, and 810.
The Class 800 trains came into service on the Great Western Main Line on 16 October 2017, while the first examples on the East Coast Main Line were put into service on 15 May 2019. Early operations have been troubled by fatigue cracking and corrosion on the aluminium vehicle body shells, particularly on the yaw dampers.
As part of the UK Government's Intercity Express Programme (IEP), the Class 800 units were built as partial replacements for the InterCity 125 trains, which at the time operated services on the Great Western Main Line and the East Coast Main Line, as well as the InterCity 225 trains, which currently operate services on the East Coast Main Line. The scheme drew heavily upon the preceding British Rail Class 395 high speed trains produced for Southeastern. A total of 80 train sets have been constructed, comprising 36 five-car and 21 nine-car units intended for operation with Great Western Railway (GWR), along with 10 five-car and 13 nine-car with London North Eastern Railway (LNER).
In March 2016, Virgin Trains East Coast announced that its trains would carry the brand name Azuma, a Japanese word for "East". During June 2016, GWR announced that its trains would be known as Intercity Express Trains. However, due to the early demise of Virgin Trains East Coast, they would not operate the new trains, which entered service with successor London North Eastern Railway. Even so, the Azuma brand has been retained by LNER.
In July 2016, it was revealed that GWR's intended fleet of Class 801 units were to be converted from pure EMU to bi-mode due to delays in the electrification. Subsequently, these were reclassified as Class 800/3. As a part of this reconfiguration, the original 1.35 m3 (300 imp gal) fuel tanks were replaced with larger capacity 1.55 m3 (340 imp gal) tanks.
The Class 800 train is a high speed bi-modal multiple unit (BMU). The traction system comprises electric motors that are alternatively capable of drawing power from electrified overhead lines where available, or of using electricity produced by onboard underfloor diesel generators when travelling beyond the current electrified network. As per the train specification, the changeover between modes can occur at line speed for minimal service impact. As part of the Great Western Main Line order was originally for Class 801s, all Great Western franchise units have the possibility to be converted to electric-only operation by removal of the diesel engines.
Hitachi designed the rolling stock for conformance with the latest European standards as of 2014, including the Technical Specifications for Interoperability, and UK railway standards. A high level of flexibility was pursued in order to allow the type to be operated on numerous lines with different infrastructure, both in the present and the foreseeable future, such as variable passenger demand and the rollout of electrification. The front-end cars, which feature a collision safety structure compliant with the latest European standards, incorporate an automatic coupling system along with measures to reduce both air resistance and noise.
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British Rail Class 800
The British Rail Class 800, branded as the Intercity Express Train (IET) by Great Western Railway (GWR) and Azuma by London North Eastern Railway (LNER), is a type of bi-mode multiple unit train built by Hitachi Rail for GWR and LNER. The type uses electric motors powered from overhead electric wires for traction, but also has diesel generators to enable trains to operate on unelectrified track. It is a part of the Hitachi AT300 product family.
The Class 800 was developed and produced, alongside an electric-only Class 801 variant, as part of the Intercity Express Programme (IEP) to procure replacements for the InterCity 125 and InterCity 225 fleets of high speed trains. The trains were manufactured by Hitachi between 2014 and 2018, being assembled at Hitachi's Newton Aycliffe Manufacturing Facility using bodyshells shipped from the company's Kasado Works in Japan. Similar bi-mode units have also been produced by Hitachi as Classes 802, 805, and 810.
The Class 800 trains came into service on the Great Western Main Line on 16 October 2017, while the first examples on the East Coast Main Line were put into service on 15 May 2019. Early operations have been troubled by fatigue cracking and corrosion on the aluminium vehicle body shells, particularly on the yaw dampers.
As part of the UK Government's Intercity Express Programme (IEP), the Class 800 units were built as partial replacements for the InterCity 125 trains, which at the time operated services on the Great Western Main Line and the East Coast Main Line, as well as the InterCity 225 trains, which currently operate services on the East Coast Main Line. The scheme drew heavily upon the preceding British Rail Class 395 high speed trains produced for Southeastern. A total of 80 train sets have been constructed, comprising 36 five-car and 21 nine-car units intended for operation with Great Western Railway (GWR), along with 10 five-car and 13 nine-car with London North Eastern Railway (LNER).
In March 2016, Virgin Trains East Coast announced that its trains would carry the brand name Azuma, a Japanese word for "East". During June 2016, GWR announced that its trains would be known as Intercity Express Trains. However, due to the early demise of Virgin Trains East Coast, they would not operate the new trains, which entered service with successor London North Eastern Railway. Even so, the Azuma brand has been retained by LNER.
In July 2016, it was revealed that GWR's intended fleet of Class 801 units were to be converted from pure EMU to bi-mode due to delays in the electrification. Subsequently, these were reclassified as Class 800/3. As a part of this reconfiguration, the original 1.35 m3 (300 imp gal) fuel tanks were replaced with larger capacity 1.55 m3 (340 imp gal) tanks.
The Class 800 train is a high speed bi-modal multiple unit (BMU). The traction system comprises electric motors that are alternatively capable of drawing power from electrified overhead lines where available, or of using electricity produced by onboard underfloor diesel generators when travelling beyond the current electrified network. As per the train specification, the changeover between modes can occur at line speed for minimal service impact. As part of the Great Western Main Line order was originally for Class 801s, all Great Western franchise units have the possibility to be converted to electric-only operation by removal of the diesel engines.
Hitachi designed the rolling stock for conformance with the latest European standards as of 2014, including the Technical Specifications for Interoperability, and UK railway standards. A high level of flexibility was pursued in order to allow the type to be operated on numerous lines with different infrastructure, both in the present and the foreseeable future, such as variable passenger demand and the rollout of electrification. The front-end cars, which feature a collision safety structure compliant with the latest European standards, incorporate an automatic coupling system along with measures to reduce both air resistance and noise.
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