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Class 800 GWR

The Class 800 Super Express is a type of electro-diesel train to be used in the United Kingdom, based on the Hitachi A-train design. They are to be built by Hitachi from 2015. The first units will be delivered for the Great Western Main Line (GWML), beginning service there in Autumn 2017 and on the East Coast Main Line (ECML) from 2018. These trains will be built at Hitachi's purpose-built facility at Newton Aycliffe, alongside the related electric multiple unit Class 801. The Class 800 units are known by the names IET (Intercity Express Train) and the project name IEP (Intercity Express Programme). They have been given the name Azuma by Virgin East Coast, one of their future operators. As part of the UK Government's Intercity Express Programme, the Class 800 units are to be partial replacements for the aging InterCity 125 trains which currently operate services on the Great Western Main Line and the East Coast Main Line. The Class 800 units will be electro-diesel multiple units, able to draw power from electrified overhead lines where available and power themselves via underfloor diesel generators outside the electrified network. The train specification requires that this changeover can occur at line speed. The trains can be converted to electric-only operation by removal of the diesel engines. In March 2016, Virgin Trains East Coast announced that its Intercity Express Programme (IEP) trains would carry the brand name Azuma, the Japanese word for "East". In June 2016, Great Western Railway announced that its IEP trains would be known as Intercity Express Trains.In July 2016, it was revealed that GWR's intended fleet of Class 801s were to be converted from pure EMUs to bi-mode units due to delays in the electrification. Subsequently these were reclassified as Class 800/3. The original 1.35 m3 fuel tanks will also be replaced with larger 1.55 m3 tanks. On 30 June 2016, GWR's test IEP (800004) ran from Reading to London Paddington carrying invited dignitaries. The GWR units will enter service from Autumn 2017.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Rail_Class_800