Final ‘Paragon’ unit launched into traffic
Anniversary livery for fifth Hull Trains Hitachi Class 802 unit.
CLASS 802, No. 802305, the fifth and final member of the Hull Trains complement of Hitachibuilt bi-mode units, has been unveiled in a version of livery marking the company’s 21st anniversary.
The unveiling, by the new Hull Trains (HT) managing director David Gibson, took place at Hull Paragon station on October 8 and also marked No. 802305’s entry into passenger service. Branded ‘Paragons’ by the operator, the £60 million fleet was built at Hitachi’s Pistoia plant in Italy and financed by Angel Trains.
Debut
When No. 802301 made the debut ‘Paragon’ working on December 5, 2019, it had been expected that all five trains would be in operation by early 2020. However, as an open access operator not entitled to additional financial support from the Government, the impact of the Covid-19 lockdowns on revenue prompted HT to suspend services three times, the most recent being from January 9 until April 12 this year.
HT launched its first services on September 25, 2000, using Class 170 ‘Turbostar’ diesel multiple units.
The Class 802s are a replacement for its previous fleet of Alstom-built Class
180 ‘Adelante’ diesel units, transferred to East Midlands Railway, which had been augmented during 2019 with the hiring-in of two HSTs due to reliability issues.