IEP ARRIVES
THE first Intercity Express Programme Class 801 electric multiple unit has arrived in the UK.
Built in Kasado (Japan), five-car 801101 was delivered to Hitachi Rail Europe’s Doncaster depot in late February.
HRE is contracted to deliver 12 five-car Class 801/1s and 30 nine- car Class 801/2s. Both fleets (330 vehicles in total) will be used by Virgin Trains East Coast, operating alongside 13 nine-car Class 800/1 and ten five-car Class 800/2 bi-mode trains. In total, VTEC will have 497 IEP vehicles, with the first entering traffic next year.
HRE was also supposed to build 21 Class 801/0 EMUs for Great Western Railway, but these nine-car trains are instead being built as bi-mode Class 800/3s due to the delays in the Great Western Main Line electrification ( RAIL 802). The first (800301) is currently at HRE’s Newton Aycliffe facility undergoing testing and commissioning before being released onto the main line.
Meanwhile, the first IEP to be fully assembled in the UK (800005) left Newton Aycliffe under its own power on February 24. Paired with 800002, the five-car bi-mode ‘800’ ran to Doncaster depot.
HRE launched the ‘800’ at Newton Aycliffe in early December ( RAIL 816). Following final testing on site, it was released for training and mileage accumulation.
At the site, Class 800s up to and including 800012 have been viewed, while vehicles for trains up to 800021 have been delivered from Kasado, where bodyshells are constructed using Hitachi’s stress welding capabilities. Of the 122 IEP sets on order, 110 are being fully assembled at Newton Aycliffe.