East Midlanders can finally travel to London in style with today’s arrival of a new £400m fleet of trains for the Midland Mainline.
The maiden Aurora service departed Sheffield at 7am earlier today (Dec 3), bound for London, giving customers their first taste of comfort, reliability and performance that the new Hitachi Rail fleet brings to the network.
The 33 bi-mode trains will take advantage of the £1.5 billion Midland Main Line upgrade, with the ability to run on electric overhead lines – dramatically cutting carbon emissions by 66 per cent, meaning quieter and greener journeys too.
The trains were due to be ready and running in 2022 but there have been countless delays.
The Aurora fleet provide customers 24 per cent more seats and over 19 per cent more legroom in a typical five carriage formation, compared to the Meridian trains it is replacing.
Once the full fleet of 33 trains is in service, passengers will see a 46 per cent increase in the total number of seats available for those wanting to travel on the Midland Main Line.