The only unit out on network is 810001.
Ok thank you
A frequent sight of short forms to come...
Maybe but there is large amount of passenger benefit not being realised across multiple operators and this is costing someone serious money which can only drive up the cost of any future orders.
Makes full introduction 2026 look credible - a once unbelievable thought!
Yep! Depot drivers first, then instructors then drivers. Then obviously TM’s and catering crew on top of that…
Might be tempted to put a quid on 2027 when you put it that way. But surely not…
Just to think that the early builds would be nearly a decade old come 2030. Easiest 10 years of a train’s life!I’m confident they’ll be in service by 2030!
EMR keep telling us they coming soon but clearly not. I know these aren't exactly a 80x but they aren't that much of departure from them so whats gone awry?
Don’t know why the delay, but it’s about 70% a different train from all previous models.
Mechanically and electrically they are just iterations of previous build and they are well versed with the bodywork construction method. Also I wouldn't have thought Hitachi will be as daft as Bombardier to rehash the base software of the TMS like they did with 701s. Lets hope there is more transparency about what is going on as all this delay is costing money and hardly helps deal with the capacity issues MML has.
No they are not just iterations of previous builds.
On top of the issues that @800001 states, a number of sub contractors have gone out of business throughout production. None of which has helped and they’re a nightmare to paint and achieve a decent finish with, lots of rework apparently. I’m only assuming the colour is a difficult one to work with.
But all of that was known when they were ordered, so Hitachi should have had time for that work built in to the build schedule.
Think how much delay and cost EMR would have saved if they'd simply ordered 9-car 80x, with the standard 26m car body length.
And then only found out afterwards that they weren't actually suitable?
This has been discussed many many times…..
What engines do they have? Apologies if a technical specification elsewhere in this thread but afraid don't want to trawl through whole thread to find it!
It’s not about Hitachi being clever about vehicle length. 2 x 5 car at 26m length would not fit in St Pancras platforms, hence 23m (or 24 can’t remember) were specified by the TOC! This has been discussed loads on this forum.
Probably not so important now they are delayed, and wires will be to Wigston, and southern section wires upgraded to 125mph by time they enter service
With hindsight might have been quicker to add 20m to a few platforms so they could accommodate 260m trains
If you go back to the original order announcement, they are running about 3-4 years late. Even if you allow a year for covid related delays, it is difficult to understand why the two other extra years were not foreseen at order announcement time.
Is that even possible at St Pancras?!
Probably on 3&4 but would almost definitely require redoing the entire approach and probably widening the viaduct for p1&2.
It was the government Intercity Express Programme that specified a "standard" train length of 260m, which was compatible with all the mainline stations that can take an 11-car Pendolino (265m). St Pancras at 240m is the odd one out.
It was actually the DfT that mandated the 26m vehicle lengthen as part of the IEP procurement, so not Hitachi changing the 'rule book' on it's own.
Do some research on the specifications of trains.
