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British Rail Class 800

🇬🇧 United Kingdom ·built by Hitachi· from 2017· Electro-diesel (Bi-mode) Multiple Unit Train

🚄 high-speed train bi-mode ✓ in service
10 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
  1. 1. 800105 at Arbroath 260523 (52927192017): Foulger Rail Photos from Basingstoke, UK· CC BY-SA 2.0
  2. 2. Captain Sir Tom Moore 800025: Geof Sheppard· CC BY-SA 4.0
  3. 3. Captain Tom Moore Train Naming: Great Western Railway· CC BY-SA 4.0
  4. 4. Dr Paul Stephenson OBE 800036: Geof Sheppard· CC BY-SA 4.0
  5. 5. John Charles 800009: Geof Sheppard· CC BY-SA 4.0
  6. 6. Michael Bond 800010: Geof Sheppard· CC BY-SA 4.0
  7. 7. Highbridge - GWR 800314 Odette Hallows: Geof Sheppard· CC BY-SA 4.0
  8. 8. Taunton - GWR 800003+800004 coupled: Geof Sheppard· CC BY-SA 4.0
  9. 9. Paddington - GWR 800006 at the stop board: Geof Sheppard· CC BY-SA 4.0
  10. 10. British Rail Class 800 'Azuma' of LNER at Leeds railway station (5th July 2019) 006: Mtaylor848· CC BY-SA 4.0
Read about it on Wikipedia ↗
British Rail Class 800, photo 1 of 10
1/10 Foulger Rail Photos from Basingstoke, UK· CC BY-SA 2.0

what is it?

The British Rail Class 800, branded as the Intercity Express Train (IET) by Great Western Railway (GWR) and Azuma by London North Eastern Railway (LNER), is a type of bi-mode multiple unit train built by Hitachi Rail for GWR and LNER. The type uses electric motors powered from overhead electric wires for traction, but also has diesel generators to enable trains to operate on unelectrified track. It is a part of the Hitachi AT300 product family. The Class 800 was developed and produced, alongside an electric-only Class 801 variant, as part of the Intercity Express Programme (IEP) to procure replacements for the InterCity 125 and InterCity 225 fleets of high speed trains.

who runs it

Great Western RailwayLondon North Eastern Railway

base stats

  • speed 201 km/htop speed
  • built 36made in total

Bars compare against all trains: 600 km/h (maglev), 1,700 seats; power, weight and number built on a log scale up to 20 MW, 1,000 t and 20,000 built.

fun facts

  • First built 9 years ago, in 2017.
  • Top speed is 1.5× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
  • At full speed it would cover Amsterdam–Utrecht (≈ 40 km) in 12 minutes.

high-speed train: Built for 200–350 km/h on dedicated lines, like the TGV, ICE or Shinkansen.

spec sheet

built
2017
in service from
2017
status
in service
number built
36
kind
Electro-diesel multiple unit
traction
bi-mode
origin
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
builders
Hitachi Rail, Hitachi
operators
Great Western Railway, London North Eastern Railway
top speed
201 km/h
power
—

From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.

Sources: Wikidata Q15956101, Wikipedia: British Rail Class 800 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.

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