The announcement follows completion of a £100m deal on March 20 between FirstGroup and Hitachi Rail for the trains and 10-years’ maintenance, financed by Beacon Rail.
FirstGroup secured rights from Britain’s Office of Road and Rail (ORR) to run a new open-access service between the two capitals, with the aim of encouraging modal shift from air to rail. Two-thirds of journeys between the two cities are currently made by air. Under plans submitted in 2015, trains will call at Stevenage, Newcastle and Morpeth with an end-to-end journey time of up to 4h 30min.
The average fare will be less than £25, and FirstGroup will offer on-board catering and free Wi-Fi. FirstGroup already operates an open access service, Hull Trains, linking Hull with London King’s Cross.
FirstGroup says the benefits of the new trains include:
- more seats, as the five new trains will offer an additional 400 seats per train on the route
- greater comfort, air-conditioning, Wi-Fi, and power sockets
- quieter and more environmentally-friendly travel, and
- one standard level of service throughout the train.
“We’re excited to announce the next step to providing our high-quality low-fare service for customers linking London and Edinburgh,” says First Rail managing director, Mr Steve Montgomery. “There’s a real gap in the market for truly-affordable rail travel between the two capitals - our plans show we are serious about competing with low-cost airlines and opening up rail travel on this key route to thousands of new passengers.”
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