Celebrating 21 years of Hull Trains

MILESTONE: Hull Trains is celebrating its 21st anniversary

Hull Trains is celebrating 21 years of making direct rail travel between East Yorkshire and London easier with a new design next month.

The commemorative anniversary design on the fifth and final unit of its Paragon fleet will be unveiled at a special event at Paragon Station.

The train will depart at 10.33am on Friday, October 8.

The company’s first train from London King’s Cross to Hull set off on its maiden voyage in September 2000, a year that would see 80,000 passengers travel between the capital city and Paragon Station.

Five years later, Hull Trains counted its one millionth passenger.

In 2018, this figure had increased to 10 million, one year after it had been named Best UK Train Operator. 

The following year, the business began to increase its capacity from four to five units, with more seats per train, following a £60m investment in its Paragon fleet which completely replaced the old one.

EVENT: Hull Trains will mark its anniversary by unveiling a new design

The high-tech bi-mode, electric and diesel trains which were assembled by Hitachi in the UK are among the most modern and innovative trains on the UK’s rail network.

The open-access operator, which, as part of FirstGroup, runs direct services every day of the week from Hull and the Humber region to London, has consistently ranked among the top performing train operators in the UK according to customers.

The most recent National Rail Passenger Survey scored it above industry average for passenger satisfaction.

Andy Mellors, Managing Director, Non-Franchised Businesses - FirstGroup Rail Division, said: “At the heart of Hull Trains’ success has been our customers; the strength of feeling towards Hull Trains from the local community, I believe, is unrivalled.

“Even during the challenging period we have recently faced as a result of the pandemic, the people of Hull and East Yorkshire were unwavering in their support. We would like to thank customers and stakeholders for their support over the last 21 years.

“Likewise, colleagues at Hull Trains remain just as committed to delivering first class customer service as they did when we first started. Our colleagues are what makes travelling on a Hull Trains service so special.”