Great Western Railway unveiled its first Intercity Express Programme (IEP) Class 800 at Reading on June 30, carrying invited passengers to London Paddington.
The five-car bi-mode train (800004) is the first of 86 trains ordered for the Great Western franchise. The trains will enter traffic from July 2017, introduced initially on services to Bristol and South Wales.
A major timetable change is planned for 2018, and by the end of the GWR franchise the IEP and AT300 fleets will have replaced the five Class 180s and 54 High Speed Trains.
GWR will take delivery of 36 five-car bi-mode trains that will enter traffic first, followed by 21 nine-car bi-mode trains (originally ordered as electric multiple units) and 29 AT300s that GWR is including in the ‘800 series’ of trains.
They are being built by Hitachi, and are owned by Agility Trains. Depots for the fleet have been constructed at Swansea and Stoke Gifford (Bristol), while Hitachi has taken over the former Eurostar depot at North Pole to house the IEPs.
Watch a 360 video of the train's interior.
- Read more about this in RAIL 804, published on July 6.
- Read more about the launch in RAIL 805, published on July 20.
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FrankH - 01/07/2016 00:10
Much nicer than the gaudy thing VTEC have.
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Andrewjgwilt1989 - 02/07/2016 19:18
Well soon GWR will have to say goodbye to their own Class 43 HST rolling stocks as the Class 800's, Class 801's and Class 802's are all to replace the intercity rolling stocks and also to replace the Class 180's with GWR ordering 37 Class 387/3's to replace the Class 165's & Class 166's on the Thames Valley route as the electrification is to be completed in 2018.
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David - 12/07/2016 07:21
GWR are keeping some of their HSTs for use in the Bristol/Cardiff area (First Group own some of their own power cars and trailers). And the number of Class 387s ordered has increased to 45.
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Andrewjgwilt1989 - 12/07/2016 09:05
So GWR are keeping some of the Class 43 HST's whilst the rest are heading to CrossCountry and ScotRail with the Class 165 and Class 166's could be cascaded and to be used elsewhere including the Cotswolds and Class 180's are to be moved to Grand Central.
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Andrewjgwilt1989 - 12/07/2016 09:03
45? Thought it was 37 Class 387's that GWR are ordering.
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David - 24/07/2016 10:16
GWR are now ordering more 387s and additional 5-car Class 802s, which means that they will no longer be leasing any Class 365s.
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Andrewjgwilt1989 - 24/07/2016 11:05
So the Class 365's could still remain with Great Northern or if not then Class 365's could be used elsewhere such as operating on the West Anglia services to Cambridge & King's Linn working alongside Class 379's and Class 317's or used on Great Eastern services to Colchester, Southend Victoria, Ipswich, Clacton-on-Sea and Harwich Town lines working alongside Class 360's and Class 321's.
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7D3 - 19/08/2016 10:51
Pretty sure the Class 321 and the Class 360 (4 and 5 cars) will go to Arriva Trains Wales on the main line (321 and 360) and the branch lines (321) in the Cardiff to Swansea and Bristol region when the electrification is finished.
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Perseus - 02/09/2016 23:08
What will happen to the existing trains or are these extra?
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FrankH - 13/11/2016 22:35
Didcot Parkway – Oxford; Deferred electrification projects as of Nov 8th. Bristol Parkway – Bristol Temple Meads; Bath Spa – Bristol Temple Meads; The Twyford – Henley-on-Thames and Slough – Windsor & Eton Central branches.
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jak jaye - 17/11/2016 09:24
Whats the use of all these new trains when the wires are still not up even between Hayes-Reading,the new 387/1s just plow a short trip out from Paddington to Hayes and Harlington running half empty most of the day, we haven't got a clue about building railways,the French do it far better,they don't muck about they build from both ends
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