The Scotrail franchisee Abellio (
www.abellio.co.uk) has signed a contract with Hitachi Rail Europe (
www.hitachirail-eu.com) for the supply and maintenance of 70 new electric multiple units (EMUs), which will be financed by Caledonian Rail Leasing.
This is the first order for Hitachi’s new ‘A’ series platform; it consists of 46 three-car and 24 four-car AT200 trains, which will be used on the busy Edinburgh-Glasgow and Stirling–Alloa–Dunblane routes as part of the Edinburgh Glasgow Improvement Programme.
By the end of 2017, 24 units will be in service, with the remainder entering service during 2018. This will allow Abellio’s existing DMUs to either strengthen other services or move to England.
Hitachi says that the first seven trains will be built in its Kasado factory in Japan, with the remaining 63 being built at the soon-to-open train-manufacturing facility in County Durham. They will be built alongside the Class 800 and 801 IEP trains. With a top speed of 100mph, the A200 is 23m long and features cab-end and inter-vehicle gangways to make the best use of passenger space. It has a 35-year design life.