AVANTI West Coast’s order for 13 Class 805/0 bi-mode and ten Class 807/0 electric multiple units remains the most recent order for new trains placed by a British operator excluding those for HS2.
That deal was announced in December 2019, with the first trains now undergoing testing and one set, No. 805002, having been accepted by AWC thus allowing training to be ramped up ahead of their eventual introduction on the West Coast Main Line (WCML).
Funded by Beacon Rail, the ‘805s’ will be used to replace Class 221 Super Voyagers on non-electrified routes while the ‘807s’ were ordered to help with a planned enhanced timetable to the north west, which has since been affected by the pandemic.
Since that order was placed only the order for 54 very high speed trains for HS2 Ltd, announced in December 2021, has been made. There has been plenty of talk of new orders, but the government’s subsequent quest to save costs from the railway, resulting in several fleets being withdrawn including in the case of Southern’s Class 455s in a matter of weeks, has meant that the prospect of new trains has often felt further away than ever.
Much was made of the Chiltern Railways purchase of Class 168s from Adtranz breaking a 1064-day ‘famine’ when it came to new train orders, but if no operator places an order before this issue of Rail Express goes to press, then there won’t have been an order for the national network places for 1382 days.
On July 21, the Railway Industry Association (RIA) published. This report set out decisions that the RIA, which is the voice of the UK railway supply chain, believes would improve passenger experience and revenue as
