The Azuma fleet will comprise 10 five-car and 13 nine-car class 800 bi-mode trains, together with 30 nine-car and 12 five-car class 801 EMUs.
The first of the 225km/h trains will enter commercial operation between London King’s Cross and Leeds on May 15.
The fleet was procured by Britain’s Department for Transport under its Intercity Express Programme and is being supplied by Agility Trains, a consortium of Hitachi Rail Europe and John Laing, under a 27.5-year fixed-price train provision agreement.
