New EMR InterCity train fleet to be named ‘Aurora’

Picture: East Midlands Railway           

Regular readers will recall that EMR have ordered a completely new fleet of 33 five-car Class 810 Hitachi bi-mode electric + diesel trains for the InterCity services between St Pancras and Nottingham, Derby and Sheffield, including our services here at Market Harborough.
​(See https://www.harborough-rail.org.uk/home/category/rolling-stock/2 and scroll down to 30/7/2019). 
Rather imaginatively, EMR then announced a public competition to come up with a class-name for these trains, like the new ‘Azuma’ trains on the LNER services out of King’s Cross.
More than 2,000 entries were submitted, and result of the competition was announced on 26th October 2020, Aurora.  To quote EMR: ‘Aurora is the name of the Roman goddess of the dawn, representing the new start Aurora provides for the railway serving the East Midlands and South Yorkshire.  It is also inspired by the Northern Lights, created by the transfer of the sun’s solar energy – matching Aurora’s ability to run under electric power.’
Construction is due to start later this year, with the first trains starting mainline testing in mid-2022, before entering passenger service in early 2023.  Here’s hoping they will provide a new dawn, especially as the railway and the nation recover after the Covid-19 crisis - and that solar-powered electricity will be available for them at least as far as Market Harborough!
More can be found at: https://www.railbusinessdaily.com/a-new-dawn-east-midlands-railway-new-intercity-fleet-to-be-named-aurora/