Hitachi has delivered an Intercity Express train for testing at a depot in Inverness, Scotland.
The company is scheduled to deliver 65 similar vehicles that will operate from Inverness and Aberdeen, via Edinburgh, to London.
These new trains, equipped with Japanese bullet train technology, are scheduled to be introduced into commercial service later this year.
They are expected to offer more seats, more legroom, and feature better on-board technology that the currently operational trains.
Under the government-led Intercity Express Programme, £5m has also been invested in the Inverness depot to enable servicing and maintenance works of the new trains.
Hitachi Rail intercity express programme director Andy Rogers said: “Having the train at the depot, with its new £5m investment, is an important milestone for the project and it means the start of service is a step closer for people in Scotland.
“Later this year, trains will make it easier and more pleasant for passengers to travel around the country, boosting leisure journeys, connectivity and local economies.”
The introduction of the new trains and development of the depot infrastructure are part of the UK Government-led £5.7bn Intercity Express Programme.
UK Rail Minister Jo Johnson said: “The new state-of-the-art Intercity Express fleet provide more space, more comfort and more reliability for passengers on the East Coast Line when they are introduced later this year, with 65 new trains and nearly 500 new carriages running between London and Scotland.”
Besides manufacturing these Intercity Express trains that will run on the East Coast Main Line, Hitachi is building two other fleets for Scotland.
