Following my update on 11th May, Hitachi withdrew its entire Class 800 Series fleet from service following the discovery of cracks in some trains early on Saturday morning. Trains without cracks were subsequently released back into service, although significant disruption was seen over the weekend.
Great Western Railway is pleased to announce that it expects to be able to operate 99% of its planned timetable from Monday after the re-introduction of the majority of its long-distance fleet.
Hitachi’s fleet of 800 Series trains was removed from service across the UK as a precaution last weekend when cracks were found on some trains. After further rigorous safety checks involving ORR’s HM Railway Inspectorate, GWR is now beginning to reintroduce trains with a more regular service for passengers.
The timetable includes
- London Paddington and Bristol Temple Meads: Half-hourly
- London Paddington and Plymouth/Penzance: Hourly to Plymouth with services extended to Penzance every two hours
- London Paddington and South Wales (via Bristol Parkway): Half-hourly during peak, hourly outside peak times
- London Paddington to the North Cotswolds via Oxford: Hourly
- London Paddington and the South Cotswolds (Cheltenham/Gloucester): Hourly.
While disruption has continued, most significantly on the Great Western Railway network, over 95% of services across the national rail network are unaffected. Following extensive safety checks on their trains, TransPennine Express, Hull Trains and ScotRail have been able to operate a normal or near-normal service since Monday and no further disruption due to crack investigations is expected on these routes. Long distance routes on the Great Western Railway have, however, been severely disrupted, as well as a small number of LNER services.
The industry has come together to maintain services where possible, including to keep vital school routes open. Other operators have increased services on routes affected by the incident, operators with available rolling stock on other parts of the network have offered to bolster emergency timetables and operators on adjacent routes have agreed to accept the affected operators’ tickets.
My colleagues in the Department for Transport has met Hitachi, along with the train operators and requested a comprehensive plan from industry to develop a risk assessment to identify the risks and ensure that they are being safely managed.
Operators, working closely with Hitachi and the ORR have now confirmed that many trains can return to the network following rigorous safety tests. Trains should begin to return to service after further inspections have been carried out, helping to safely restore the reliable and punctual services on GWR and LNER that passengers deserve.
Hitachi will carry out a comprehensive daily testing regime on all affected trains. The independent safety regulator, the Office of Rail and Road, has been involved in overseeing every stage of the efforts – providing support and challenge to ensure safety is at the heart of the process.
As trains are reintroduced following these inspections, we hope to see a reasonable level of service return from next week. Over time, trains will be subject to a forward repair plan, which will ensure the long-term continued safe running of the fleet. These repairs are likely to lead to some disruption to passenger services for some time to come, although not at the level experienced over the last few days.
I expect the train operators to clearly set out how they plan to mitigate the impact of these disruptions. Alongside other operators, GWR had planned a further uplift to its timetable on 17 May. Most of the elements of that uplift on the longer-distance services operated by those trains will not now be possible.
However, I understand that planned improvements on GWR’s local and regional services are unaffected and will go ahead.
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