FEATURE: HITACHI
LIFE AFTER THE 125
It was as far back as 2005 that the Government announced the procurement exercise for the replacement of the much-loved 125s. Such has been the complexity and long-winded nature of the process that it will be 2017 before they enter service...
Words: Christian Wolmar
Sub Editor: Deborah Maby
O
ne of the great success stories of the British Rail era was the development of the HST 125 train which
provided the backbone of Intercity services – and are still a vital part of the network. Their replacement, however, is long overdue, though some of them are likely to be 40 years old before they are shunted off to the scrapyard.
It has been a long, hard road to
replace these much-loved trains. The new ones are being procured through the Intercity Express Programme, the most expensive train-purchasing exercise ever conducted in the UK, with an initial headline value of £7.5 billion (although that has now been reduced to £4.5 billion in the first stage of the contract), which includes financing and maintenance over the expected 27.5-year life span of the trains.
There are numerous areas of
controversy around the project and it has been anything but a smooth ride for either the Government or the train manufacturers. The very complexity of the deal and the changes made to the original concept have attracted widespread criticism both within the industry and beyond. Amazingly, given that the first
trains are not likely to start running for another four years, it was as far back as 2005 when the Department for Transport, belatedly realising that the 125s would not last forever, announced the procurement exercise. Two years later, a notice was issued seeking bidders who were not only to manufacture the trains but also provide the financing and maintain them.
22 RailCONNECT
The precise number of trains was not announced and it was a very complicated requirement. There were to be three types: electric powered, diesel (or self powered as it was described) and bi-mode, which would enable the trains to use either electric power or an on-board diesel engine. This first specification suggested that the trains would start entering
There was disquiet among some MPs that the deal had not gone to the Bombardier consortium, since the company’s Derby carriage works is the only one remaining in Britain.
service by 2013 but the complexity of the project and subsequent changes to the specification mean that 2017 is now the earliest date. There were originally three bidders but the Alstom consortium soon withdrew, leaving teams led by Hitachi and Siemens/Bombardier. In February 2009, the Government announced that the contract would be going to Hitachi, but that only marked the start of further complexity because the Government had changed its view on electrification, being now in favour rather than against, as previously diesel-only trains were no longer required. There was also disquiet among some MPs that the
deal had not gone to the Bombardier consortium, since the company’s Derby carriage works is the only one remaining in Britain. Moreover, there were such
widespread doubts within the industry about the viability of the project that in early 2010, Andrew Adonis, who was then the Transport Secretary, announced that a review of the scheme would be undertaken by the former head of the Audit Commission Sir Andrew Foster. In the report published later that year, Sir Andrew was sceptical about the idea of bi-mode trains because, he said, “There are no long-distance high-speed Intercity bi-mode trains operating anywhere in the world and the UK rail industry does not appear to be supportive of the concept.” Foster recommended looking at simpler alternatives, such as adapting existing designs or even using locomotives and carriages, but this was rejected by the new Coalition government, which decided to proceed with a reduced order. In July 2012, the Government finally announced financial closure on the first stage of a contract with the Agility Trains team, led by Hitachi but with backing from a wide variety of lenders. The contract is for £2.4 billion for 21 nine-car electric and 36 five-car bi-mode trains (369 carriages) for use on Great Western routes. Financial closure on the second phase of the contract for 10 five-car and 13 nine-car bi-mode and 12 five-car electric units (227 carriages) for the East Coast is expected later this year. There is, too, an option for a further 30 nine-car electric trains (270 carriages) on the East Coast.
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