Hitachi Rail has entered into a contract with FirstGroup plc and Angel Trains Limited to lease 14 new, UK manufactured, five-car Hitachi electric or bi-mode trains.
The 14 new five-car class 80X Hitachi electric, battery electric or bi-mode trains (70 cars in total) are at a cost of £500m including maintenance, over a ten year lease period.
The agreement also has a clause for options on a further 13 five-car trains, should their recently submitted open access applications be successful.
These applications include:
- A new Lumo service between London and Rochdale via Newton-le-Willows
- A service between Eccles and Manchester Victoria
- The extension of the Lumo service between Glasgow and Edinburgh
- The expansion of the new London-Carmarthen Lumo service to introduce a new Lumo service between London and Paignton
- A new Hull Trains service between London and Sheffield via Retford and Worksop
Delivery of the new trains is expected to commence in late 2027 and the trains will be maintained by Hitachi at its facilities around the country.
FirstGroup chief executive officer Graham Sutherland said: “The introduction of our new service between London and Carmarthen, and the extra capacity on Lumo and Hull Trains, will significantly increase our open access portfolio over the next few years.
“The new trains, to be manufactured for us in County Durham by Hitachi, will support UK manufacturing and offer customers more choice as they consider affordable, environmentally friendly modes of travel in the future, and we are pleased to be taking them forward.”
