2 comments

The first of a fleet of 33 Hitachi-built bi-mode trains which will replace the Class 222 Meridians is set to enter service next month on the Midland Main Line.

The Class 810 ‘Aurora’ units will be able to make use of the electrified sections north of Bedford, although full electrification of the Midland Main Line to Leicester, Derby, Nottingham and Sheffield has been paused once again.

East Midlands Railway said its new £400 million fleet will offer 24 per cent more seats, which will be more comfortable and have 19 per cent more legroom. The trains will also offer free WiFi and improved air conditioning.

The seats were designed for EMR by Derby-based design firm DG DESIGN, which has used the existing FISA ‘Lean’ seat and refined it, according to East Midlands Railway.

EMR managing director Will Rogers said: ‘The introduction of our first Aurora train this December marks the start of a new era for Intercity travel across the East Midlands and South Yorkshire.

‘Our Auroras have been designed with our customers at their heart, with more seats, greater comfort, better connectivity and a smoother, quieter ride.

‘We and our colleagues at Transport UK are delighted to be delivering a railway that our customers, communities and our employees can truly take pride in.’

The trains will be leased from a consortium led by Rock Rail.

East Midlands Railway is currently run by Transport UK, but is set to be renationalised in or after October 2026.

Readers’ comments

All the Auroras are five cars which will lead to overcrowding on some workings as there’s only enough units for half the workings to be twin units. But that is an opportunity rather than a problem as some battery powered centre cars could be ordered for key Sheffield services to get the benefit of discontinuous electrification quicker than the previously planned full electrification. That needs a follow on contract rather than an expensive change (and further delay) to the existing contract.

John Porter, Leeds (formerly from Kettering)

Now we seem to be moving to hybrid trains, using batteries to bridge unelectrified stretches. I remember  the way, back in the 1970s, gas turbine experiments were ‘clobbered’ by steeply rising oil prices, with gas turbines particularly hit, due to their very poor consumption when not working ‘full load’. Put these things together and we might be able to construct a gas-turbine – electric power plant allied to battery storage – so that the turbine runs continually at full load, and excess electric energy is stored in battery, for subsequent use when needed. Why bother? Gas turbines are smaller, simpler and lighter than equivalently powered diesel engines.

David C. Smith, Bletchley

What do you think? Click here to let us know.