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East Midlands Railway to cut hundreds of intercity services over Hitachi issues
The operator said it expects about 20 fast trains per day to be removed from its Midland mainline timetable as its Class 810 fleet continues to underperform.
East Midlands Railway will cancel hundreds of intercity services from its summer timetable on the Midland mainline, citing ongoing problems with its fleet of Hitachi trains.
The operator said it is cutting about 20 fast trains a day between London, Sheffield and Nottingham, with other services also expected to be short-formed and potentially crowded, as its newer Class 810 fleet faces performance and reliability issues.
East Midlands Railway said the Class 810 trains, previously branded as Auroras when launched less than a year ago, have fallen below expected levels, prompting the temporary reduced schedule while the company works with Hitachi Rail to improve consistency.
The operator also criticized Hitachi’s maintenance of the older Class 222 trains the new fleet was meant to replace, saying the work significantly affected its ability to run a consistent intercity service.