The UK’s Department for Transport (DfT) and Agility Trains have announced that they have reached financial close for phase two of the £5.7 billion Intercity Express Programme (IEP).
The consortium has confirmed the final chunk of funding for 65 new Class 800 trains being built for the East Coast main line to replace the ageing Class 125 and 225s currently in service.
Hitachi is delivering 866Â electric and bi-mode carriages altogether for the Great Western and East Coast main lines.
The European Investment Bank confirmed that it would be loaning £235 million to the scheme. Further financing has already been signed off from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ (BTMU), Development Bank of Japan (DBJ), HSBC, Lloyds, Mitsubishi Trust, Mizuho, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), Société Générale and Crédit Agricole.
Hitachi Rail Europe will design, build and maintain the new fleet at its sites in Newton Aycliffe and Doncaster over the course of the 27.5-year contract term.
Martin Garrett, chief executive officer of Agility Trains East, said: “We have been delighted with the response of financial institutions to the financing of this important project.
“With this key milestone achieved we will now be able to deliver the step change in reliability, capacity and comfort that the IEP will bring to rail passengers on the East Coast Main Line.
“Hitachi Rail Europe has announced separately the construction of a new train factory in the UK and with this new contract now fully funded this will bring extensive opportunities for British companies in working with Hitachi to deliver the trains.”
Alistair Dormer, Hitachi Rail Global chief executive of Hitachi Ltd, said: “I am delighted by today’s news of financial close for the East Coast Main Line fleet of trains. Hitachi Rail is once again demonstrating its commitment to the UK through its investment in this programme.
“The high level of interest by some of the world’s leading banks is ample proof of the confidence in the IEP and confidence in UK rail.”
They’re replacing the 25 year old IC 225 sets, yet Devon and Cornwall will still be stuck with the almost 40 year old IC 125 sets.
Aren’t you getting the bi-mode IEPs?
Nope. DfT have confirmed the IEP trains are not planned for use in Devon. Since they are under powered they probably couldn’t cope with the gradients in Devon. The Bi-mode trains are all 5 car, so doubt they could replace a whole HST on the Paddington to Penzance journey. It would be a bit of a waste anyway, they’re not electrifying the line west of Newbury.
I was under the impression that Agility Trains was a company set up to act on behalf of Hitachi purely for the purpose of bidding for the IEP contract. The reason for it’s establishment was possibly because Hitachi had no office or factory in Europe and therefore they requested the assistance of John Laing and Barclays. However, as the Newton Aycliffe will soon be open for production and Hitachi’s Global Rail Division office is moving to London, will Agility Trains now be disolved as a company?
If Laing and Barclays are partly paying for the trains I should think Agility will remain as the ROSCO
The new trains will be replacing a lot of HSTs on the Great Western Main Line, although they will probably be cascaded elsewhere. But I think if the Midlands Main Line gets new Class 801s once it is electrified, which I hope it does, the diesel trains currently running on it can be used to replace HSTs in the south-west.
I think it’s more likely MML will get cascaded IC 225s. I doubt the 222s will end up on the Paddington Penzance route since they are much smaller. CrossCountry will probably get cascaded DMUs to replace their HSTs but I bet FGW will be stuck with HSTs for a very long time.
It’s a shame if the MML doesn’t get new trains as it would be able to compete much better with the ECML and WCML and they will be faster and consume less energy too. I was also hoping for the Class 91s to go to freight services.