Steve Double, Member of Parliament for St Austell and Newquay, has welcomed the announcement that new Hitachi trains for GWR’s Devon and Cornwall route have gone into production.
Today, Hitachi announced that production of new intercity trains for the South West has begun, with 93 trains being built using Japanese bullet train technology. This fleet includes 36 new trains to connect London to Cornwall.
Commenting, Steve said:
“It is great to see the work started on these new intercity trains for the London-Cornwall route.”
“This Government is carrying out the greatest investment in rail infrastructure since the Victorian times, and I am pleased to see that Cornwall is benefitting direct from this.”
“Updating our rolling stock has been needed for a long time, some of the existing trains are 40 years old and are long overdue to be replaced. This is another sign of this Government investing in Cornwall after years of neglect by previous administrations.”
“Passengers will benefit from more seats, space and on-board technology, including real-time journey updates and seat reservation screens, and the fleet’s design ensures it can withstand the region’s weather conditions, including routes along the Dawlish coast.”
“I look forward to 2018 when these trains are scheduled to go into service.”