Hitachi Rail Europe said that it has started the works for Virgin Trains’ new Azuma (Class 800) trains that will be put into service on east coast in 2018.
Work on the bodyshells is taking place in Kasado, Japan, before the trains arrive in the UK to be built by Hitachi’s manufacturing team at Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, which is home over 900 employees including 50 apprentices. UK build work on the Virgin Azuma will begin this summer.
The Virgin Azuma fleet of 65 trains will provide an extra 12,200 seats, and faster journeys will make direct routes to new destinations such as London-Middlesbrough possible, as well as a big increase in through services from London to places such as Bradford, Harrogate and Lincoln.
“The new Azuma fleet will 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,” Karen Boswell, Managing Director at Hitachi Rail Europe said.
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