THE £52m depot for the new Japanese ‘bullet trains’, capable of travelling at up to speeds of 140mph, has been opened.
The site of the Hitachi High Speed Rail depot in Ashford, was unveiled on Tuesday by transport minister Ruth Kelly and Japanese ambassador Yoshiji Nogami.
The new depot will become the base for the Japanese Class 395 six-car bullet trains for Southeastern's high-speed service.
The ‘Javelin’ trains are capable of travelling at speeds up to 140mph reducing the current London to Ashford journey time from 88 minutes to 37.
Opening the depot Ruth Kelly said: “Today marks a landmark in the Channel Tunnel rail link programme. This is the first major new railway to be built in Britain in over a century and the new trains will give the fastest commuter service in the UK; cutting journey times to Ashford, Folkestone, Dover and North Kent.”
The first trains will now undergo testing until they enter passenger service in December 2009.
They will also play a key role in the transportation plans for the 2012 Olympics; shuttling passengers from St Pancras to the Olympic station at Stratford.
The new domestic high speed service is expected to have considerably higher ticket prices.
The Mrs Kelly said: “This is part of the government’s commitment to the regeneration of the Thames Gateway and the Ashford growth area. These domestic services will help attract new businesses and boost employment in the region and give the people of Kent much improved access to London.”
The Hitachi depot will employ around 100 people.
Sir Stephen Gomersall, chief executive of Hitachi Europe, said: “I think it will contribute, in a wider sense, to technical knowledge in the area as well as through direct employment.
“It will be a big task getting these trains into service with 100 per cent reliability. We are confident that we will achieve that but there will be a lot of work to be done to get to the highest standard.”
Defending the government’s role in the cancelation of Eurostar services to Brussels from Ashford the minister said: “These are commercial decisions that Eurostar have made. They believe they will able to serve more people from the station at Ebbsfleet.
“This javelin service will be one of the most visible images of a new and revitalised transport system. They are also symbolic of wider railway regeneration backed by sustained development by the government and private sector.
“The challenge now is to manage a railway not in decline, but in creating a railway system of which we can be proud.”
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POSTED: 03/10/2007 11:14:40