New
Hitachi-built
trains

have
entered
service
with
Avanti
West
Coast,
where
they
are
replacing
the
diesel
Voyagers
which
were
built
by
Bombardier
around
the
start
of
this
century.

The
new
fleet
of
23
trains,
costing
£350
million,
has
been
dubbed
Evero.
It
will
eventually
consist
of
13
five-car
bi-mode
sets,
known
as
Class
805,
and
10
seven-car
electric
trains
known
as
Class
807.

The
first
Evero
train
to
London
Euston
was
the
10.37
from
Crewe
yesterday
morning,
which
departed
without
publicity
and
was
formed
by
one
Class
805
set.
It
left
at
the
same
time
as
two
Class
805
units
working
in
multiple
departed
for
Holyhead.

The
new
trains
appeared
on
the
same
day
that
summer
timetables
came
into
force,
which
also
include
two
extra
daily
return
journeys
between
London
and
Birmingham
on
weekdays
and
one
extra
return
journey
on
Saturdays.

Avanti
said
the
name
Evero
was
‘created
as
part
of
a
collaborative
process
with
our
people
and
stakeholders,
with
a
Trackathon
in
March
2022
where
suggestions
were
made.
It
was
important
to
us
that
the
name
should
stand
for
something
bigger.
A
title
that
gives
the
world
a
glimpse
of
what
we
aim
to
achieve,
which
goes
beyond
getting
people
from
A
to
B.
The
EV
in
Evero
nods
to
the
fact
these
trains
are
more
environmentally
friendly.’

The
805s
and
807s
will
initially
run
on
routes
from
London
to
the
Midlands,
Chester,
North
Wales
and
then
to
the
North
West.
For
the
time
being,
they
will
continue
to
run
alongside
Class
221
Voyagers.

The
bi-mode
805
has
299
seats,
16
per
cent
more
than
the
Voyagers
it
is
replacing.
The
805s
will
mainly
operate
on
the
London
to
North
Wales
route
while
the
Class
807
electric
trains
will
run
between
London,
the
West
Midlands
and
Liverpool.

A
total
of
six
805s
will
be
used
on
each
weekday
at
first,
and
the
remainder
of
the
fleet
will
be
introduced
in
due
course.
It
will
be
maintained
at
Alstom’s
Oxley
depot
in
the
West
Midlands.

Avanti
West
Coast
managing
director
Andy
Mellors
said:
‘The
introduction
of
our
new
timetable
and
the
Evero
fleet
marks
an
exciting
new
chapter
for
our
people
and
customers.’