GWR ‘802’ launch
Great Western Railway’s £497 million fleet of 125mph bi-modes for the Westcountry are launched in Cornwall.
GREAT Western Railway launched its Class 802 fleet to invited stakeholders on August 17, a day before the first sets entered traffic.
Five-car 802005 carried stakeholders from Penzance to Exeter St Davids. It was the first of 36 Eversholt Rail-funded Class 802 bi-modes ordered specifically for the west of England route to carry passengers on the main line.
The following day (August 18), the class entered revenue earning traffic when GWR used 802006/007 on the 0645 Bristol Temple Meads-Swansea. They were followed on August 20 by 802003/005, which worked the 0553 Plymouth-London Paddington, while 802006/007 worked the 0730 London Paddington-Penzance.
GWR Managing Director Mark Hopwood said: “We know how important the railway is to the economies and communities of the South West.
“Already delivering significant improvements elsewhere on the GWR network, these new trains [Intercity Express Trains] will – with an improved timetable – enable us to offer a step change in passenger transport.
“The trains will help us to deliver faster, more frequent services into the South West, each providing up to 24% more seats per train, in greater comfort and with improved on-board facilities.”
The operator claims that the trains will cut journey times between London and Plymouth by up to six minutes, and from London to Penzance by up to 16 minutes.
Alistair Dormer, Group CEO – Rail, Hitachi Ltd, told RAIL on August 17 that construction of the final GWR ‘802’ was underway in Pistoia and that the fleet would be delivered by the end of the year. He explained that while the trains may be built in Italy, they contain the same number of UK components as trains assembled at Newton Aycliffe. He said more than 30 UK suppliers were involved, which together accounted for 70% of the materials of each train.
Dormer told RAIL that the major difference between the ‘802s’ and the Class 800s is that the former are fitted with brake resistors on the roof.
Originally the Class 802s were to have larger fuel tanks (around 15% bigger), with a capacity of 1,550 litres per vehicle to help them to operate much further away from the overhead line electrification. However, Network Rail’s failure to deliver the Great Western Electrification Programme on time has meant that the Class
800s have been fitted with the larger fuel tanks too.
The ‘802s’ also have a slightly different kitchen design, said Dormer. Like the ‘800s’, the three intermediate vehicles on an ‘802’ are fitted with MTU 12V1600R80L engines capable of 700kW (940hp).
Unlike the ‘800s’, there is no contract that stipulates the Class 802s must return to a Hitachi depot at night, although Dormer said the manufacturer was relaxed about that particular deal.
GWR has 22 five-car (802001802022) and 14 nine-car sets on order (802101-802114).
The five-car ‘802s’ have 290 standard class and 36 first class seats (28 tables in standard class). There are five toilets and two wheelchair spaces (the latter are in first class).
With the nine-car trains, there are 576 standard class and 71 first class seats (52 standard class tables). These ‘802s’ have ten toilets and four wheelchair spaces.
Apart from three pre-series trains (802001/002, 802101), all were built by Hitachi in Pistoia, Italy. They feature the same amount of UK-supplied material as Intercity Express Trains assembled at Newton Aycliffe (more than 70%).
GWR spokesman Dan Panes confirmed that all 36 trains would be in traffic by early-2019, replacing 40-year old High Speed Trains on long-distance routes.