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Brand new express trains on East Coast Main Line

Two five-car bi-mode Class 800s ran from Old Dalby to North Pole on April 11.

The trains, the first two of the 122-strong Intercity Express Programme order, have been undergoing testing at the Rail Innovation and Distribution Centre (RIDC). 
Both '800/0s' will be used by Great Western Railway when it starts using IEP sets next year. There will be 36 '800/0s' used by GWR alongside 21 nine-car electric '801/0s'. 
The IEP trains destined for Virgin Trains East Coast, including 800101, which was unveiled to the press on March 18 (RAIL 797), will enter traffic from 2018.
 
The trains are built by Hitachi Rail Europe. These '800/0s' were built in Kasado, Japan, but 110 of the 122 trains will be assembled at Newton Aycliffe.
3 800002 trails 800001 through Marholm, near Peterborough, on April 11, with the 0836 Old Dalby-North Pole. The '800' carries Virgin Trains branding from the official opening of the Newton Aycliffe facility last September. ANDREW WRIGHT.