Hitachi Rail has signed an agreement with FirstGroup and Angel Trains to lease 14 new five-car class 80X trains for open access rail services in the UK.
The trains, to be manufactured in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, will support UK manufacturing while enhancing rail connectivity on under-served routes.
The contract is valued at approximately 500 million GBP and includes maintenance services over the ten-year lease period. The contract also includes options for the supply of additional trains.
The newly ordered 14 trains, comprising 70 rail cars, will feature electric, battery-electric, or bi-mode capabilities. Delivery is set to begin in late 2027, with the trains to be deployed on FirstGroup’s existing Hull Trains and Lumo services, as well as the newly announced London-Carmarthen route.
If FirstGroup’s further open access applications are approved by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), the company has the option to lease an additional 13 five-car trains.
Potential new routes include:
- A Lumo service between London and Rochdale via Manchester Victoria
- Extension of Lumo’s Glasgow-Edinburgh service
- A London-Paignton Lumo route
- A Hull Trains service between London and Sheffield
“The introduction of our new service between London and Carmarthen, and the extra capacity on Lumo and Hull Trains, will significantly increase our open access portfolio over the next few years, with further expansion possible should our recent applications be successful. The new trains, to be manufactured for us in County Durham by Hitachi, will support UK manufacturing and offer customers more choice as they consider affordable, environmentally friendly modes of travel in the future, and we are pleased to be taking them forward.”
