Hull Trains facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Hull Trains

A Class 802 Paragon at London King's Cross in February 2020
Info
Franchise(s):	Open access operator Not subject to franchising 25 September 2000 – December 2032
Main (s):	East Midlands Greater London Yorkshire & the Humber
Other (s):	East of England
Fleet size:	5 Class 802 Paragons
National Rail abbreviation:	HT
Parent company:	FirstGroup
Route map

Hull Trains is a train company in England. It is owned by FirstGroup, a large transport company. Hull Trains runs long-distance passenger services. These trains travel between Hull Paragon (and sometimes Beverley) and London King's Cross. It's an "open-access operator," which means it runs services without needing a special government contract (a "franchise"). They have permission to use the railway tracks until December 2032.

Hull Trains started in 1999. Back then, very few trains ran directly between Hull and London King's Cross. The company wanted to offer more options. They got permission to start running trains on September 25, 2000. Over the years, their permission to use the tracks has been extended many times. At first, a company called GB Railways owned most of Hull Trains (80%). Two former railway managers owned the rest. In 2003, FirstGroup bought most of the company. Five years later, it was renamed First Hull Trains. By 2014, FirstGroup owned the entire company, and the name went back to Hull Trains.

Hull Trains began with three services each day. Because more and more people wanted to travel, they slowly added more trains. By December 2006, they ran up to seven services daily. They also added more carriages to each train to carry more passengers. Hull Trains first used small, three-car Class 170 Turbostar diesel trains. Six years later, they switched to four-car Class 222 Pioneer trains. After that, they used five-car Class 180 Adelante trains and InterCity 125 HST sets. Early trains could go up to 100 miles per hour (160 km/h). With the Class 222 trains, speeds increased to 125 miles per hour (200 km/h). As of 2022, Hull Trains uses a fleet of five Class 802 Paragon "bi-mode" trains. These trains can run on both electricity and diesel. In 2020 and 2021, Hull Trains had to stop services temporarily because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Regular services started again on April 12, 2021.

History of Hull Trains

Starting the Service

In 1999, only one train ran each day between Hull Paragon and London King's Cross. This train was called the Hull Executive. In May 1999, two former railway managers, Mike Jones and John Nelson, wanted to start a new train service. They teamed up with a train company called GB Railways. GB Railways owned 80% of the new company, and Jones and Nelson each owned 10%.

In December 1999, Hull Trains got permission to use the railway tracks for four years. This permission came from the Office of Rail Regulation. Other train companies didn't want Hull Trains to start. Also, the company that owned the tracks, Railtrack, had trouble finding good times for Hull Trains to run. But many important people, including members of parliament, supported Hull Trains. They wanted better transport for Hull.

First Journeys and Challenges

Hull Trains officially started running on September 25, 2000. The first train left King's Cross station. Many people used the new service, which was a good sign. However, the company faced a big problem early on. A serious train accident called the Hatfield rail crash caused major delays and speed limits on the tracks. This affected Hull Trains' services a lot. But Railtrack paid them some money for the lost income.

In its first year, Hull Trains carried about 80,000 passengers. In September 2002, Hull Trains' permission to use the tracks was extended for ten more years.

Changes in Ownership and Growth

In August 2003, FirstGroup, a large transport company, bought GB Railways. This meant FirstGroup now owned most of Hull Trains. In 2005, Hull Trains celebrated carrying its one-millionth passenger!

In June 2008, Hull Trains changed its name to First Hull Trains. It also started using FirstGroup's blue, pink, and white colours on its trains. In January 2009, their track access rights were extended until December 2014. Then, in February 2010, they were extended again until December 2016. That same year, the company offered 1.25 million seats every year.

In August 2014, FirstGroup bought the remaining 20% of the company. This made Hull Trains fully owned by FirstGroup. In January 2015, the track access agreement was extended until December 2019. That same year, the company went back to being called Hull Trains. In March 2016, Hull Trains got approval for another 10-year agreement until 2029. This allowed them to order five new Class 802 bi-mode trains.

In 2017, Hull Trains was named the Best UK Train Operator. A survey showed that 97% of passengers were happy with their services.

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic

In late March 2020, Hull Trains temporarily stopped all services. This was due to the COVID-19 pandemic. People worried the company might not survive without government help. However, Hull Trains was able to start services again on August 21, 2020. In October 2020, their track access rights were extended for three more years.

The British government announced a second lockdown. So, on November 2, 2020, Hull Trains said it would stop all services again from November 5, 2020. After the second lockdown ended, services restarted on December 3, 2020, with fewer trains. A third lockdown began, and on January 5, 2021, Hull Trains announced another temporary stop to services from January 9, 2021. Regular services finally resumed on April 12, 2021.

In August 2021, the track access agreement was extended until December 2032.

Hull Trains Services

Hull Trains runs services between Hull and London. They also have some services to Beverley.

On weekdays, Hull Trains operates up to five round trips between Hull Paragon and London King's Cross. They also have two round trips each day between Beverley and King's Cross. On weekends, there are five daily services only between Hull and King's Cross.

Hull Trains started with three services per day on September 25, 2000. They added a fourth daily service in December 2002. A fifth started in May 2004, a sixth in May 2005, and a seventh in December 2006.

On February 4, 2015, one weekday service was extended from Hull Paragon to Beverley and back. In December 2015, one weekend service was also extended to Beverley. In May 2019, another weekday service in each direction was extended from Hull Paragon to Beverley.

Future Plans for Hull Trains

2008: Harrogate and Cleethorpes Proposals

In 2008, First Hull Trains asked for permission to run new services. They wanted to go between Harrogate and London King's Cross (stopping at York). They also wanted to run trains from Cleethorpes to King's Cross (stopping at Lincoln and Spalding). In January 2009, the Office of Rail Regulation said no to the Harrogate plan.

2024: Sheffield Proposal

On January 5, 2024, Hull Trains announced a new plan. They have asked to run a new service between London King's Cross and Sheffield. This train would also stop at Woodhouse and Worksop. The company hopes this new service will start in the second half of 2025.

Hull Trains: The Trains They Use

Class 802 Paragon at Hull Paragon in 2019

Current Fleet (Trains Used Now)

In September 2015, Hull Trains announced they would spend £60 million on five new trains. These would be five-car "bi-mode" high-speed trains from Hitachi. They would have seats for 320 people. Hull Trains confirmed these would be Class 802s. In August 2019, Hull Trains decided to call their new trains the 'Paragon' fleet. The first new train started service on December 5, 2019. The older Class 180 trains stopped being used after March 19, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the Class 802 trains, Coach A has standard seats and space for wheelchairs. Coaches B and C are all standard seating. Coach D has both standard and first-class seats. Coach E is completely first-class seating with wheelchair space. These new trains do not have a cafe bar, unlike the Class 180 trains they replaced.

Family	Class	Image	Type	Top speed		Qty.	Cars	Routes operated	Built
				mph	km/h
Hitachi AT300	802 Paragon		BMU	124	200	5	5	Beverley / Hull Paragon – London King's Cross	2017–20

Past Fleet (Trains Used Before)

Class 222 Pioneer at Doncaster in 2007

When Hull Trains first started, it was hard to find suitable trains. They tried to get more Class 43 trains, but it was too expensive to update them for safety. Instead, they leased three-car Class 170 Turbostars from a sister company. Hull Trains began services on September 25, 2000, with these Class 170 trains. Sometimes, an older Class 86 electric train with Mark 2 carriages was used as far as Doncaster.

Later, Hull Trains needed to own its own trains. They ordered four three-car Class 170 Turbostars. The first of these started service in March 2004. These were meant to be temporary. At the same time, they ordered four four-car Class 222 Pioneers. The Class 170s were available sooner.

The Class 170 Turbostars started service in March 2004. They were later moved to another train company, First ScotRail. The Class 222 Pioneers started service in May 2005. These trains allowed Hull Trains to increase their top speed from 100 mph to 125 mph. This made journeys shorter and helped the trains fit better with other fast services on the main line.

Class 180 Adelante at Peterborough in 2011

In 2006, the number of first-class seats on each train increased from 22 to 33. This was done by changing the inside of the trains and removing some standard class seats. In January 2007, a Class 222 Pioneer train was damaged during maintenance. It took two years to fix. For a while, Hull Trains only had three trains. In January 2008, they rented a Class 86 electric train to pull Mark 3 carriages for weekend services.

The first five-car Class 180 Adelante trains started service in April 2008. Four of these trains were introduced in total. They replaced the rented trains and the three Class 222 Pioneer trains. The Class 222s were then moved to East Midlands Trains.

The Class 180s allowed Hull Trains to carry more passengers because they had an extra carriage. But when they first arrived, these trains had many technical problems. This led to a period where trains were often delayed or cancelled. However, the reliability later improved. The Class 180s also got a new look inside with new seat covers and a deep clean. New food services for first class were added. Outside, the trains were repainted in FirstGroup's blue colours.

After more reliability problems with the Class 180s, Hull Trains rented an InterCity 125 HST train from Great Western Railway in February 2019. In April 2019, Hull Trains added another HST set due to more problems. Both of these HST sets went back to GWR in December 2019.

After the new Class 802 trains were introduced, the Class 180 trains were moved to East Midlands Railway. They replaced older trains there. The first two Class 180s moved in January 2020, and the last two followed in summer 2020.

Family	Class	Image	Built	Number	Withdrawn	Notes
Loco-Hauled Stock (Trains pulled by a separate engine)
	Class 86		1965–1966	1	2008	Replaced by Class 180 Adelante
	Mark 3		1975–1988	5
	Driving Van Trailer		1988	1
InterCity 125	Class 43		1975–1982	2 sets formed of 5 carriages each	2019
	Mark 3		1975–1988
Multiple Unit (Trains that have their own engines in the carriages)
Bombardier Turbostar	Class 170		1999–2004	4	2005	Replaced by Class 222 Pioneer
Bombardier Voyager	Class 222 Pioneer		2005		2009	Replaced by Class 180 Adelante
Alstom Coradia	Class 180 Adelante		2000–2001	5	2020	Replaced by Class 802 Paragon

Train Maintenance Depots

The Class 180 Adelante trains used to be maintained at Old Oak Common Depot. This was done alongside trains from another company, First Great Western. This depot closed in 2018. Two or sometimes three trains were kept and serviced each night in Hull sidings by Hull Trains staff. These staff would do basic repairs and checks. Fuelling and emptying toilet tanks happened at Arriva Rail North's Botanic Gardens TMD. A third train was kept at either Bounds Green or Old Oak Common, depending on where it was needed. A daytime technician from Bombardier was based at Crofton TMD.

The new Class 802 trains are maintained by Hitachi at Bounds Green depot. They still get overnight servicing at Northern Trains Hull Botanic Gardens TMD.