Delays, faults and crowding on first train in £5.7bn fleet
THE launch of a new £5.7billion fleet of high-speed trains descended into farce yesterday as the first journey was overcrowded and hit by delays and faulty air conditioning – all while the Transport Secretary was on board.
Chris Grayling had hailed the new fleet before its maiden journey as “a fantastic service” but he swiftly found himself on a train packed with frustrated commuters.
The fleet launched with great fanfare but things soon turned sour on the first journey as water poured from the air conditioning and the train was delayed by up to 40 minutes.
The new Hitachi-built Intercity Express train had been due to leave Bristol Temple Meads for London Paddington at 6am sharp but the Great Western Railway (GWR) service did not depart until 6.25am because of unspecified “technical issues”. The delays stretched to 40 minutes as the train came into London.
The new trains are designed to travel faster as they accelerate more rapidly and include a digital reservation system telling passengers whether a seat is booked.
But passengers on the first service were forced to stand despite claims that capacity on the new trains had been increased by 20 per cent.
Meanwhile, the air conditioning had to be turned off and passengers who had paid £204 for a standard return to London were left uncomfortably warm thanks to the unseasonably mild weather.
One commuter had their laptop damaged as water from the air conditioning poured into one of the car- riages with some people having to vacate their drenched seats.
The problems undermined what was supposed to be a triumphant launch for the new trains which were billed as delivering a better, more comfortable experience for passengers with improvements to First Class, more plug sockets and Wi-fi throughout.
Disgruntled passengers took to social media to complain that they would have settled for a train that ran on time and with seating they could sit on.
Mr Grayling said before departure: “These are the smartest trains in the country, probably the best we have ever had in the country.
“This is going to be a fantastic service, really regular trains and far more capacity.”
Karen Boswell, the managing director of Hitachi, was on board the delayed service alongside Mr Grayling and apologised to commuters.
She said: “I want to say to passengers that we are really sorry that the first service from Bristol didn’t go as planned today… the delay and water leak meant that it was not the standard of service we expect and are known for.”
She said the train company “can and will do better” and that Hitachi was investigating the “root causes” of the problems.
A GWR spokesman said: “Unfortunately, the train was delayed this morning due to a minor technical matter that was quickly resolved at the depot.
“These trains have been running successfully on UK tracks for over two years and recently passed the industry standard 5,000 miles running without a fault.
“Hitachi will be investigating this matter thoroughly. There was a fault with an air conditioning unit. Hitachi engineers were on board the service to fix it.
“The first Intercity Express Train was always likely to be very popular as people seek to be a passenger on the first ever train, and this did mean it carried more people than it usually would, particularly between Reading and Paddington.
“In normal conditions, this train will provide enough seats to more than accommodate the number of people that would usually travel on this train.” A spokesman for the Department for Transport said: “The new trains are a renewal of the ageing Intercity 125 fleet, which was first introduced in 1976, and they will go on to replace fleets across the country.
“The Government-led Intercity Express Programme, funded by Agility Trains, has brought together Hitachi Rail, GWR, Virgin Trains East Coast and Network Rail to design, develop and build the new class of state-of-theart, modern trains and supporting depot infrastructure for the Great Western and East Coast routes.”