Railways: Standards

(asked on 14th May 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, under the terms of the contracts between Hitachi, the Government and Train Operators, who is liable for the financial costs of the disruption resulting from the recent withdrawal of services after the discovery of cracks in electric and electro-diesel trains constructed by Hitachi Rail.


Answered by
Chris Heaton-Harris Portrait
Chris Heaton-Harris
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
This question was answered on 19th May 2021

In total, 182 Hitachi trains have been impacted by this issue. 122 of these trains have been procured via the Department’s Intercity Express Programme contract with Agility Trains as the service provider, and the remaining 60 trains have been procured under conventional rolling stock leases. All 182 trains are maintained by Hitachi as the appointed manufacturer.

Under the Intercity Express Programme contract, if Agility Trains is unable to offer the train for service on a given day, they are not paid and must pay to resolve the issue to ensure trains are made available.

The agreements in place contain provisions that protect the taxpayer. I have been clear with the industry that I expect those who have the contractual performance and train availability obligations including Agility Trains, to fully compensate the taxpayer in this matter.

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