FirstGroup plc announced that it has entered into a Lease Agreement with Angel Trains Limited ('Angel Trains') and Hitachi Rail Limited ('Hitachi') for the lease of 14 new trains. The Group has signed an agreement with Angel Trains and Hitachi to lease 14 new five-car class 80X Hitachi electric, battery electric or bi-mode trains (70 cars in total) at a cost of c.PS500m including maintenance, over a ten year lease period. The trains will be manufactured by Hitachi in County Durham, securing the skills base and jobs in the local area.
The new trains will enable FirstGroup to significantly expand its open access portfolio and will be used on the newly announced London-Carmarthen route and to increase the number of cars on the existing Lumo and Hull Trains services. The agreement also contains an option for FirstGroup to lease up to an additional 13 trains on the same terms if the Group's open access applications are granted by the Office of Rail and Road ('ORR') Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is visiting Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, to celebrate a significant agreement for the Hitachi factory which has secured an order to manufacture 70 new rail cars for FirstGroup's growing open access business, creating certainty for the manufacturing skills base, and the factory's future. The Lease Agreement will deliver 14 new trains, which will not only give the Group a homogenous fleet across its open access operations, ensuring flexibility and reliability for customers, but also facilitates the Group's strategic objective of materially increasing its open access capacity.
Delivery of the new trains is expected to commence in late 2027. The lease will be financed by Angel Trains, adding to their portfolio of Hitachi assets. The successful open access model, which is supported by Government and the independent regulator ORR, connects under-served places, helping to drive economic growth and providing additional capacity on core routes which can push a modal shift away from carbon-intensive travel.