The British Rail Class 810 ''Aurora'' is a type of

bi-mode multiple unit An electro-diesel multiple unit (EDMU) or bi-mode multiple unit (BMU) is a form of a multiple unit that can be powered either by electric power picked up from the overhead lines or third rail (like an electric multiple unit – EMU) or by usi ...

being constructed by

Hitachi Rail () is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It is the parent company of the Hitachi Group (''Hitachi Gurūpu'') and had formed part of the Nissan ''zaibatsu'' and later DKB Group and Fuyo ...

for

East Midlands Railway Abellio East Midlands Limited, trading as East Midlands Railway (EMR), is a train operating company in England, owned by Abellio, and is the current operator of the East Midlands franchise. History In March 2017, the Department for Transport a ...

. Based on the Hitachi AT300 design, 33 five-car units are being built to replace

Class 180 The British Rail Class 180 is a class of 14 Diesel multiple unit#Diesel–hydraulic, diesel-hydraulic Multiple unit, multiple-unit passenger trains manufactured by Alstom at its Washwood Heath factory in 2000/01 for First Great Western (FGW) . T ...

and Class 222 units on EMR's intercity routes.

Background

In July 2012, it was announced by

Network Rail Network Rail Limited is the owner (via its subsidiary Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, which was known as Railtrack plc before 2002) and infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. Network Rail is an "arm's leng ...

that the

Midland Main Line The Midland Main Line is a major railway line in England from London to Nottingham and Sheffield in the Midlands. It comprises the lines from London's St Pancras station via Leicester, Derby/Nottingham and Chesterfield in the East Midlands. ...

(MML) would be

electrified Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source. The broad meaning of the term, such as in the history of technology, economic history ...

north of

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...

, allowing the diesel trains currently used on the route by to be replaced with new electric trains. However, electrification was paused by Network Rail in June 2015, and then cancelled in July 2017 by then-Secretary of State for Transport

Chris Grayling Christopher Stephen Grayling (born 1 April 1962) is a British Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party politician and author who served as Secretary of State for Transport from 2016 to 2019. He has served as Member of Parliament (United King ...

, who made the decision to use bi-mode trains on the MML instead. In August 2019,

placed a £400million order for 33 five-car bi-mode units which will be deployed on services on the MML, replacing its

and

222 __NOTOC__ Year 222 ( CCXXII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Antoninus and Severus (or, less frequently, ye ...

fleets. The order is being funded by

Rock Rail Rock Rail is a British rolling stock company (ROSCO). It was established by Rock Infrastructure in 2014, and was structured as a subsidiary of the firm during July 2016. Rock Rail signed its first rail leasing deal for 25 Siemens Mobility-built ...

East Midlands. It was originally planned that the new trains would enter service before December 2022, but as a result of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

the introduction will be delayed into 2023. In October 2020, EMR announced they would be branded as ''Aurora'' following a public competition.

Design

The Class 810 is an evolution of the Class 802 units Hitachi have delivered to a number of British train operators. The major change is a reduction in the length of each vehicle, which is required in order to allow paired (ten-car) Class 810 trains to use

London St Pancras St Pancras railway station (), also known as London St Pancras or St Pancras International and officially since 2007 as London St Pancras International, is a central London railway terminus on Euston Road in the London Borough of Camden. It is ...

station. Some of the length reduction has been achieved by reprofiling the front end of the train and shortening the nosecone. Compared to Class 802 units the 810s will also be fitted with an additional diesel power pack—for a total of four—and each engine will be uprated from . Both of these changes are intended to satisfy the franchise requirement that the new trains equal or exceed the performance of the current Class 222 units. The power packs will be installed under the first, second, fourth, and fifth vehicles, while the third (centre) vehicle will carry the high-voltage transformer.

Traction motor A traction motor is an electric motor used for propulsion of a vehicle, such as locomotives, electric vehicle, electric or hydrogen vehicles, elevators or electric multiple unit. Traction motors are used in electrically powered rail vehicles (ele ...

s will be fitted to the bogies of the second and fourth vehicles.

Interior

In response to customer feedback regarding seating comfort on earlier Class 80x units, both first- and standard-class seats on the Class 810 will be of a unique design that is intended to offer enhanced comfort. They will be based on the existing FISA ''Lean'' design, but of an altered appearance. EMR were working closely with Derby-based design company DGDESIGN on the design of the new interiors. It is claimed that the seats will have wider cushions, more-sculpted headrests, softer and deeper armrests, additional privacy screening, and be upholstered in a wool-rich

moquette Moquette, derived from the French word for carpet, is a type of woven pile fabric in which cut or uncut threads form a short dense cut or loop pile. As well as giving it a distinctive velvet-like feel, the pile construction is particularly durabl ...

that is intended to be easier to keep clean. Every passenger will have access to power sockets and USB charging points, at-seat coat hooks, and storage space under each seat. EMR intend the seats to be the most comfortable on the network when they are introduced.

Fleet details

References

{{High-speed rail High-speed trains of the United Kingdom Hitachi multiple units Hybrid multiple units 25 kV AC multiple units Train-related introductions in 2023