the final “Class 395” train arrives in Southampton
The Hitachi Rail Group in Europe reached a real milestone on 29th June, when the first Hitachi high-speed train went into UK passenger service, running from Ashford in Kent to London's St Pancras station. Instead of taking more than 80 minutes for the 70 mile-journey, passengers arrived at their destination within just 37 minutes. The Class 395 is Hitachi's first rolling stock in regular service in the European market.
On 17th August the 29th and final Hitachi train ordered for Southeastern High Speed Services was unloaded at the Port of Southampton. The train arrived in Southampton on board Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics' ship, MV Tamesis and was transferred by DB Schenker to Hitachi's state of the art maintenance facility in Ashford for commissioning. In Southampton the carriages were rolled off the ship and then lifted using two 100 tonne mobile cranes in tandem directly onto the rail tracks running along the Ocean Terminal and then reformed as a train. The trains were then taken by rail to Hitachi's Ashford Depot.
Logistics specialists Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics, DB Schenker Rail (UK) Ltd and Hitachi Transport Systems worked together seamlessly to bring the 29 trains to the UK and to deliver them on schedule to the Ashford depot. All Class 395 trains have been manufactured to the latest UK and European safety standards in Hitachi's manufacturing facility in Kasado, Japan and shipped from Kobe, Japan some 12,580 nautical miles to Southampton in the UK and then on to Ashford, Kent – an overall journey of over 12,800 miles from factory to customer.
The timely delivery of the trains from Japan and successful completion of 4,000 miles ‘fault free’ running enabled Southeastern to launch its preview service nearly six months early on 29th June. For its first month of operation the service has seen near perfect punctuality at 99.1% and proved so popular that two peak-time trains were doubled in size from six to 12 carriages.
Alistair Dormer, General Manager at Hitachi Rail Europe, said: “Thanks to our logistics partners Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics and DB Schenker, the delivery of the final Class 395 train marks the successful delivery to the UK of the country's fastest commuter trains. This has been a great opportunity for Hitachi Rail to demonstrate its efficient manufacturing and delivery to the European market. Now our focus is on making sure the fleet is fully commissioned and ready for Southeastern's full launch in December”.
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