ORR approves new Hitachi inter-car connector design
A solution regarding the intercarcable design that delayed the introduction of the LNER Azuma fleet has been agreed by the Office of Rail and Road.
It involves reducing the number of cables between vehicles, increasing the distance between the cables and fitting clear warning signage similar to that found at a sub-station regarding the risk of electrocution.
More than 30 designs were considered after the ORR deemed the current ‘ladder’-style design unsafe ( RAIL 863). This followed an accident at Manchester Piccadilly in 2017 when a drunk passenger climbed a similar design between
Class 390 vehicles and was electrocuted. An inquest was told he was killed instantly.
When the ORR made its decision in October 2018, it said it was about mitigation, and that the aim was to prevent similar accidents happening. This was despite Great Western Railway Class 800 and ‘802s’ already operating with the design.
LNER was able to introduce its Class 800 and ‘801s’ from last year, but there remained a need for the redesign, and the ORR had initially given Hitachi and the operator a year to come up with a solution.
A Hitachi spokesman said: “We will be working with our customers who operate the Class 80x series to make appropriate modifications to carriage interconnectors, with all changes enacted by the revised deadline of Summer 2022, as agreed with the Office of Rail Regulation.”
The company has delivered 93 Intercity Express Trains (Class 800 and ‘802s’) to Great Western
Railway, 19 Class 802/2s to TransPennine Express and is close to completing the 65-strong order for LNER. Four of the five Class 802/3s for Hull Trains are also in traffic, with the fifth set still in its Pistoia factory in Italy.
The Japanese manufacturer has deals to build a further 61 trains for three operators, and all will be in traffic by the end of 2022.