In service 2017 (planned) Family name A-Train | Manufacturer Hitachi Replaced InterCity 225 | |
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Built at Hitachi Kasado, Japan (pre-production)
Hitachi Newton Aycliffe (production) Number built 30 x 9-car sets
12 x 5-car sets | ||
The Class 801 Super Express is the electric multiple unit (EMU) variant of the Hitachi Super Express, based on the Hitachi A-train, high-speed trains to be used in the United Kingdom. They are being built by Hitachi from 2015. The first units were planned to be delivered for the Great Western Main Line (GWML), commencing service in 2017. These trains will be built at Hitachi's purpose built facility at Newton Aycliffe, alongside the related electro-diesel Class 800.
Background and design
As part of the UK Government's Intercity Express Programme, the Class 801 units were to be replacements for the InterCity 125 and InterCity 225 trains which currently operate services on the Great Western Main Line and the East Coast Main Line. The Class 801 units were designed as electric multiple units. However, owing to delays in the electrification of the GWML, in June 2016 the Government announced that the 21 units planned for use by Great Western Railway would instead be converted to bi-mode operation, and they were later reclassified as Class 800/3. As a consequence, Class 801 units will be used exclusively on the ECML.