Government gives green light for new high-speed rail service

Hitachi will deliver and maintain a fleet of 29 high-speed trains

The government has given the go-ahead for a new high-speed rail service for the South West, put forward by First Great Western in March, which will see Hitachi deliver and maintain a fleet of 29 high-speed trains.

The trains will have up to 24% more seats compared to the majority of the trains serving the route today, creating more than 1,000 additional peak time seats into and out of Paddington every day.

The trains, which are capable of operating on both non-electric and electric routes, are similar in design to Hitachi’s new Intercity Express trains, which are due to enter service on the Great Western Main Line between London and South Wales from 2017 onwards.

Karen Boswell, managing director for Hitachi Rail Europe said: “The announcement builds on our significant and sustained investment in the British rail sector. This contract with First Great Western recognises the quality of Hitachi’s high-speed trains and our world class engineering capability.

"Hitachi Rail Europe is committed to delivering trains for the UK’s fare-paying customers that are genuinely transformative in terms of speed, capacity and comfort. This new fleet will be a revolution in customer experience for those travelling to and from the south west, and we look forward to delivering these Hitachi trains for use from 2018 onwards.”

HRE was named as preferred supplier by FirstGroup in March 2015, with the contract being subject to approval by the Department for Transport.