Abellio and Hitachi have finalised a contract to supply a new fleet of electric trains during the next ScotRail franchise.
Hitachi will build 70 new electric multiple units (EMUs) to operate on the Edinburgh-Glasgow via Falkirk High line.
The new fleet will include 46 three-car and 24 four-car AT200 units. The first trains will arrive in summer 2017 and delivery of all the units will be completed in 2019.
The first seven trains will be built in Japan at Hitachi Kasado works before production moves to the UK to the manufacturer’s new site in Newton Aycliffe.
Abellio included plans to procure new rolling stock in its bid for the new 10-year ScotRail franchise, which begins on April 1.
As well as operating between Scotland’s two largest cities, the new trains will be used on the Stirling-Alloa-Dunblane line and south Glasgow suburban routes.
The contract includes a 10-year maintenance deal.
Transport Minister Derek Mackay said: “With the new ScotRail franchise, a number of impressive infrastructure projects and these slick new trains, we are giving Scotland a railway to be proud of.”
It’s a new train and they they can’t even line up the seats with the windows. Who wants to sit looking at piece of plastic for an hour or so?
It is not Hitachi who design and state the requirements for seats……. It is the DfT
It would be interesting to know about the design process. Who did it – DfT, Scotrail, Abellio, Hitachi? Is this an off the peg design and someone else was later given the job of fitting in the seating? Could not the windows be realigned or the window pillars made less obtrusive? However it has come it come about, it is surly a squandering of public resources to be building trains which such design flaws.
The Scottish Government drafted the franchise requirements. I don’t think they specified seat alignments, although I note that Abellio did refer to this on some routes (www.abellio.com/news/abellio-awarded-contract-operate-scotlands-national-railway-scotrail)
Whoever, whatever – it’s still a howler.
Will the units that are displaced end up on heritage lines – i.e. Northern??