Hitachi’s Bi-Mode Aurora Trains Trigger Service Reductions on East Midlands Railway

East Midlands Railway (EMR) announced an emergency reduced timetable on Monday after repeated failures of its new Class 810 “Aurora” fleet built by Hitachi. The 33-train, £400 million contract, awarded in 2019, was intended to replace the 222 Meridian fleet. The Aurora trains entered passenger service in December 2025—three years later than originally planned—and have since suffered technical problems that forced EMR to slash up to half of its services between London and Leicester, Nottingham, Lincoln, Derby and Sheffield. Local leaders, including Labour mayor for South Yorkshire Oliver Coppard, described the disruption as a “summer of chaos.”

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The Aurora fleet is bi-mode, capable of electric or diesel operation, a requirement because the Midland Main Line remains only partially electrified. Hitachi’s experience with bi-mode trains is limited, and the company is simultaneously delivering 54 trains for Phase One of HS2 under a £2 billion joint venture with Alstom, a contract awarded in 2021. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander recently praised Hitachi’s work in Japan and urged Britain to emulate its “bullet trains.”

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Hitachi Rail said more than a third of the Aurora fleet has been delivered and that the company is “investing in additional testing activity at Long Marston Rail Innovation Centre to improve fleet introduction.” Will Rogers, managing director of EMR, acknowledged that “the performance of the Class 810 fleet has fallen below the levels we and our customers expect” and apologized for the “significant disruption and inconvenience.” The Department for Transport declined to comment.

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Industry observers question Hitachi’s capacity to deliver the bi-mode design. An unnamed industry insider warned that Hitachi “shouldn’t have bid for a contract they couldn’t really deliver.” Roger Ford, industry and technology editor at *Modern Railways*, noted that EMR “ordered a train that didn’t exist from a manufacturer with no experience of that type of duty.” Freelance journalist Chris Howe urged a parliamentary select-committee hearing, saying “Hitachi has a good reputation at building trains, but you do have to question their ability to deliver these bi-mode models.” He added that the government will face pressure to resolve the issue before EMR’s planned public-ownership transfer in October 2026.

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• “They [Hitachi] shouldn’t have bid for a contract they couldn’t really deliver.” — industry insider

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• “Roger Ford, industry and technology editor at Modern Railways magazine, wrote on X: “The basic problem with the Class 810 is that EMR ordered a train that didn’t exist from a manufacturer with no experience of that type of duty.” — Roger Ford, industry and technology editor, *Modern Railways*

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• “Hitachi has a good reputation at building trains, but you do have to question their ability to deliver these bi-mode models,” — Chris Howe, freelance transport and engineering journalist

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• “ Will Rogers, managing director at East Midlands Railway, said: “The performance of the Class 810 fleet has fallen below the levels we and our customers expect, and it is necessary to introduce a temporary reduced timetable while we work with the manufacturer, Hitachi Rail, to improve consistency in service.” — Will Rogers, managing director, East Midlands Railway

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• “We remain focused on delivering the remainder of the fleet and supporting East Midlands Railway as more new trains enter passenger service.” — Hitachi Rail spokesperson

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