Hull Trains

Hull Trains’ first Pioneer sets out
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date 20 May 2005
source Hull Trains
type Press release

The first of Hull Trains’ brand new Class 222 Pioneer trains will make its maiden passenger-carrying journey when it departs Hull Paragon station at 15.32pm, Monday 23 May. The new fleet of 125mph trains will be in full service by the middle of June and are all set to be the “blue riband” service on the East Coast Main Line.

The fleet of four-car trains, an investment of some £24m, is coming into service on time and on budget, and represents a major milestone for Hull Trains; bringing not just faster journey times, but greater passenger comfort and improvements in both First and Standard classes. The new Class 222 Pioneer, which has seats for 192 passengers, where the current Class 170 accommodates 159, features other benefits which bring enhancements to each passenger’s individual “living space”. These include: additional leg room, domestic sockets throughout the train, improved heating and ventilation, electronic seat reservation and improved facilities for disabled passengers.

Along with the 222s superb acceleration and speeds up to 125mph, bringing journey-time improvements of as much as twenty minutes - introduced incrementally through the national timetable changes, there are reliability features, such as a seamless transition to the second engine and consequently trains kept to time. The Class 222 Pioneer also has greatly enhanced catering facilities in the kitchen and buffet for the benefit of both First and Standard class passengers.

Mark Leving, Hull Trains’ Managing Director, said: “It’s a great day for Hull Trains. We have long seen the benefits of these fantastic trains and we are now looking forward to sharing them with our passengers. The new trains are the crowning achievement of a very busy twelve months at Hull Trains. We have introduced a new stop at Howden, a new weekday service and more services at the weekends. I’m confident that we will be in a position to announce even more services in the coming year. We are determined to keep building on our success and provide the very best in services for our customers on the entire route.”

As the Class 222 Pioneers come into service the Class 170s will move become part of the ScotRail fleet. The Class 170 has been a remarkably reliable train and its service record has been much enhanced by the team- work between Hull Trains and Bombardier who have been responsible for servicing and maintaining the sets. Chris Watters, Hull Trains’ Engineering and Assurance Manager said, “The Class 170s have been highly successful and I’m delighted that much the same team from Bombardier is staying on to maintain the Class 222s. We have an excellent working relationship with Bombardier, and as a team we have made reliability an absolute priority.”

Railhub Archive ::: 2005-05-20 HUL-001