The 100% electric
Lumo (Class 803) fleet, which was built in the North East at
Hitachi Rail’s Newton Aycliffe’s manufacturing facility and helped ‘transform passenger journeys on the East Coast Mainline’, is currently the UK’s most reliable fleet.
It has been ranked the No.1 fleet in the UK according to reliability figures for the last nine periods and is currently operating at a level that is 13-times better than the UK industry average. This ranking marks the third year in a row that Hitachi Rail’s maintenance team has won Gold for ‘outstanding performance and reliability’ in the in the ‘2nd Generation new inter-city category’ of the
Golden Spanner awards organised by
Modern Railways and based on reliability data from the previous 12 months.
Jim Brewin, Hitachi Rail’s chief director UK & Ireland, said: “For the third consecutive year, Hitachi Rail’s maintenance team has been honoured with the industry’s highest award for reliability. This achievement is a testament to our strong partnership with our customers, whose daily collaboration is vital in establishing new standards in train reliability.”
Martijn Gilbert, managing director of Lumo, said: “This
Golden Spanner award is a real reflection of the exceptional efforts of our team and those of our partners at Hitachi. It highlights the strides we have made in setting new standards for reliability while pioneering sustainability goals to make rail even cleaner, greener and truly customer focused.”
Mr Brewin concluded: “Digital maintenance has played a major role in maintaining consistently high levels of train availability across the rail network. Hitachi Rail’s digital maintenance offer includes digital asset monitoring solutions that capture information about the train in real-time. This reduces depot downtime and digitally optimises maintenance activities.”