Hitachi Rail’s Lumo Fleet Sets New Standard for Reliability on the East Coast Mainline

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The Lumo (Class 803) fleet received the prestigious Gold award—the top honor in the 2nd Generation new inter-city category.

Constructed at Hitachi Rail’s facility in Newton Aycliffe, North East England, the entirely electric Lumo fleet has revolutionized travel along the East Coast Mainline and is currently recognized as the most dependable fleet in the UK.

Lumo’s performance stands out significantly. It ranks as the most reliable fleet in the UK, with reliability ratings that have consistently outperformed others for nine consecutive periods, operating at a rate 13 times higher than the national industry average.

The fleet’s outstanding dependability in the past year can be attributed to effective customer partnerships, dedicated efforts from the maintenance teams, and the adoption of innovative digital technologies.

This marks the third consecutive year that Hitachi Rail’s maintenance team has earned the Gold award for exceptional performance and dependability.

Organized by Modern Railways, the Golden Spanner awards are the rail industry’s most esteemed accolades, recognizing fleet reliability with data from the previous year.

Jim Brewin, Chief Director UK & Ireland at Hitachi Rail, said: “For the third consecutive year, Hitachi Rail’s maintenance team has been honoured with the industry’s highest award for reliability.

“This achievement is a testament to our strong partnership with our customers, whose daily collaboration is vital in establishing new standards in train reliability.

“A huge congratulations to our dedicated maintenance teams, whose ‘continuous improvement’ mindset and digital maintenance solutions are breaking new ground in fleet performance.”

Martijn Gilbert, Managing Director of Lumo, said: “This Golden Spanner award is a real reflection of the exceptional efforts of our team and those of our partners at Hitachi. It highlights the strides we’ve made in setting new standards for reliability while pioneering sustainability goals to make rail even cleaner, greener and truly customer focussed.

“Our focus remains on providing a dependable, eco-friendly service that meets the evolving needs of customers, and this prestigious recognition reinforces the value of the Lumo approach.”

Digital solutions, particularly in maintenance, have been crucial in achieving high levels of train availability consistently across the network. Hitachi Rail’s digital maintenance solutions include real-time digital asset monitoring, which minimizes downtime at depots and enhances maintenance efficiency digitally.