British Rail Class 805

History

In December 2019, Avanti West Coast ordered 13 five-car bi-mode trains and 10 electric units from Hitachi Rail under a £350 million deal, with all originally due to enter service by 2023. Financing came from Rock Rail West Coast, a joint venture between Rock Rail and Standard Life Aberdeen. The trains, alongside the Class 807, are maintained at Oxley depot near Wolverhampton by a joint Alstom and Hitachi team. Passenger features include free Wi-Fi, wireless inductive charging at seats, 230 V and USB sockets, catering, and a real-time information system that can show connecting rail services.

Static testing began in June 2022 at Newton Aycliffe, followed by dynamic testing that November. Main line testing started in February 2023, and while service entry was initially planned for later that year, it was delayed to summer 2024. The Class 805 began regular service on 2 June 2024. In August 2024, the Office of Rail and Road issued an improvement notice to Avanti West Coast, ruling that the lack of an automatic speed supervision system—present on the older Class 221 fleet—breached legislation.

Compliance would require retrofitting continuous speed supervision, which could be costly if new hardware is needed. Avanti West Coast appealed the notice. The Class 805 replaces diesel-only trains that ended service in December 2024 and were transferred to CrossCountry.