LNER to retain Inter-City 225s

London North Eastern Railway is to retain several of its Inter-City 225s to give ‘additional resilience’ in its fleet.

The trains were due to be retired from LNER’s fleet after over 30 years of service.

A spokesperson from LNER said: “We are currently working on the complex task of planning for the December 2021 timetable change, which will allow us to use the new Azuma fleet to its full potential with more frequent services, reduced journey times and greater capacity.

“We are running a procurement for additional trains to run the enhanced 2021 timetable, therefore to allow for the timescales of procurement and to give us additional resilience in our fleet, we will be retaining a number of our IC225 electric trains.

“This will allow us to deliver significant benefits for customers, while enabling the release of Azumas for modification programmes such as the previously announced additional luggage racks.”

LNER welcomed its brand-new Azuma trains from London King’s Cross to Leeds last May. Their arrival led to more seats and more trains, increasing the train operating company’s fleet from 45 to 65 trains.

They were manufactured in Britain by Hitachi Rail, at its purpose-built factory in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham.

Photo credit: LNER

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