The East Coast Main Line has a rich history, and the introduction of these new, fully electric services marks the next chapter. Sarah Reid, commercial director for Network Rail’s Eastern region, said: “We’re delighted to welcome Lumo to the route. The Hitachi manufacturing site at Newton Aycliffe (Image: Hitachi) The company said it would contribute as much as £250m to the UK economy over 10 years. Lumo’s passenger services aim to create more than 13m additional passenger journeys in the next 10 years, as well as reducing carbon emissions by encouraging travellers to use greener, electric rail travel. “Ahead of COP26, the Lumo fleet demonstrates how UK manufacturing and rail can offer a zero-emission alternative to flying and deliver green growth.” This is an important moment for the industry as we encourage more people back onto the rail network. We have invested over £100m to ensure Lumo stands apart and encourages people to choose rail travel over air for journeys between the two capitals. Steve Montgomery, First Rail managing director, said: “Lumo underlines our commitment at FirstGroup to innovation and customer service to reimagining rail travel. “Despite the initial challenges of the pandemic, Hitachi Rail has delivered these 100% electric trains on time, which is testament to the determination and resilience of everyone involved.” Jim Brewin, head of UK & Ireland at Hitachi Rail said: “This fleet is another milestone for our North East factory, with the highest number of parts being sourced from Hitachi Rail’s UK supply chain. The service made its inaugural service today, travelling from London King’s Cross to Edinburgh, with the first passenger services due to start on Monday.

Read more: Find more transport stories here The Lumo service will run five trains a day in each direction between Edinburgh, Morpeth, Newcastle, Stevenage and London, with fares starting at £14.90 between the two capitals in a bid to encourage greener and more affordable travel. The Lumo service follows a £100m investment into the clean energy trains, which were manufactured at Hitachi Rail’s manufacturing plant in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham. FirstGroup’s new 100% electric trains – which were manufactured in the North East – are making their inaugural journey.

Lumo trains