Hull Trains has recently released new images that show the production of its new £60m fleet.

It comes as the operator confirms the new hi-tech trains are on schedule to arrive in the UK later this year, with the first of the five trains in passenger use by November.

Having been built at Hitachi Rail’s manufacturing plant in Japan, the state-of-the-art trains are being manufactured in Pistoia, Italy.

In Barcelona, Spain, the new spacious seats are being made and the first seats are now ready for inspection.

Hull Trains are replacing their entire current fleet of Class 180s with five new intercity Class 802 trains, which will be the biggest project the company has ever seen in its 19-year history.

Being more reliable, stylish and accessible, the trains will also be more environmentally friendly and energy efficient.

The production process

In the factory, the shells of the trains first enter the pre-production lines where the windows are fitted and the wiring and flooring is completed.

The toilets are also added at this stage.

The next stage will be the main assembly area, this is a six-part installation production process.

This is where the interiors are fitted. Currently, there are three trains side by side in this stage in Italy.

Once the first train is completed it will enter system testing before it’s ready for its first inspection.

The first train is due for inspection at the beginning of July.

Along with the production process, staff are busy working behind the scenes to get acceptance from the Office of Rail and Road (ORR.) To do this, Hull Trains will need to submit technical files.

On schedule for passenger use

Once in the UK, each of the new trains has to experience 1,500 miles of fault-free running time on the tracks.

Hull Trains, alongside financiers Angel Trains, will then fully inspect the trains.

The trains will be phased into the timetable alongside existing trains, and all five will be running by December 31.

What did the officials say?

Richard Vernon, Fleet Project Engineer at Hull Trains who has recently returned to the UK having been in Italy, said the pictures show an exciting stage in the process.

He said:

“These trains really are a reality now and later this year our customers will be travelling on them between Hull and London.

“As you can see from the pictures, they really are taking shape and look really impressive.

“It really is an exciting phase in the project for us because we are deep into the production process now and to see a sea of blue in the assembly house really is extraordinary.

“We are on schedule for the first train to arrive in the UK in August, and by November the first train will be in passenger use.

“Looking at them you really can see how they will transform rail travel between Hull and London.”

“Everything you could imagine is looked for,”

“We need to make sure everything is exactly as we want it. It will be a very busy period of inspections for us.

“However, we don’t envisage too much of an issue because we have seen the quality of work in Japan and Italy.

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