The company hopes it will herald a new era where the 40-year-old InterCity 125 high speed trains which have operated the route up until now will be gradually phased out – some being converted to shortened Castle Class trains to relieve overcrowding on local services in Cornwall and others moving to new duties on Scotland’s Highland Line.
On Friday a special demonstration Class 802 InterCity Express train was run through Cornwall and Devon from Penzance to Exeter to enable the region’s journalists and other invited guests to sample the new rolling stock. Many praised the carriages for being quiet, light and airy.
This morning, an Intercity Express Train ran for the very first time with fare-paying passengers on board, forming the 05.53 Plymouth to London Paddington service. A second train formed the 07.30 London Paddington to Penzance service, taking it through Saltash, St Germans, Menheniot, Liskeard, Bodmin Parkway, Lostwithiel and Par en route to the far west.
Great Western Railway Manging Director Mark Hopwood said: ‘We know how important the railway is to the economies and communities of the South West and I am delighted to see this first new train for Devon and Cornwall services carry passengers.
‘Already delivering significant improvements elsewhere on the GWR network, these new trains will, with an improved timetable, enable us to offer a step change in passenger transport.
‘The trains will help us provide faster, more frequent services into the South West, each offering up to 24 per cent more seats per train, in greater comfort and with improved on board facilities.’
The first wave of the new Hitachi-designed trains – dubbed by some ‘bullet trains’ after the famous Shinkansen high-speed services across Japan – began running along the electrified stretch of original Great Western Railway mainline between London Paddington and Bath, Bristol and Cardiff last year.
Now, from today, the second wave of trains – built as hybrids able to operate under both diesel power and electric power where appropriate, and designed to withstand the Westcountry regions varying weather conditions, including close proximity to the sea at Dawlish and Teignmouth – has begun running on the route from Paddington via Reading, Westbury and Taunton to Devon and Cornwall.
While the new trains are being built at a plant in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, GWR says Hitachi chose companies along the Westcountry routes to supply parts, including floors from TiFlex near Liskeard in Cornwall, electric pantographs from Bracknell Willis in Somerset and braking systems from Knorr-Bremse in Wiltshire.
A GWR promotional video of one of the new trains operating in Cornwall can be seen at https://youtu.be/mMEISpSFnZU