Delays and drips mark Great Western Railway's new train launch
First outing for bi-mode Hitachi Class 800 Intercity Express gets into London from Bristol 41 minutes late, with seats roped off due to a leak
It was perhaps an inevitable first outing for a train service whose development has been plagued by overspending and delay. The first Intercity Express train to carry passengers down the part-modernised Great Western Railway from Bristol arrived in London 41 minutes late, with its air-conditioning switched off, passengers standing in the aisles and rows of its ergonomic seats roped off due to a leak.
The brand-new Hitachi Class 800 train, the first of a new fleet assembled in Britain at a cost of £5.7bn, left Bristol Temple Meads 25 minutes later than the scheduled 6am departure on Monday morning. It lost further time en route, while some passengers had to take evasive action after liquid started dripping from an air-conditioning unit overhead, the BBC reported.
Some of the things I haven’t seen you tweet about yet @GWRHelp are the sectioned off wet seats due to leaks on your new train #GWRNewTrains pic.twitter.com/FSxkfvHrQK
#GWRNewTrains promised to improv capacity, punctuality & psngr experience but we see again people standing, 30min delay & technical faults pic.twitter.com/wAP4yUdMgY
Source: Guardian Transport
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