UK: At its Derby factory, the company is displaying mock-ups of full-size passenger cars with entrance areas and toilets. The cars are being developed in partnership with Hitachi Rail.
The interiors are said to have been designed in consultation with over 100 people, including low mobility passengers and cyclists. According to the HS2 project management company, the seats with folding tables and sockets have a leg room of 87cm. They can be reclined, with the bottom part sliding forwards, so passengers do not encroach on the space of the person behind them.
Testing of the interior of the Alstom train for the HS2. Source: HS2
The final design is expected to be approved in early 2026, with production starting in 2027.
Alstom is working on these trains under the contract for 54 V300 Zefiros, worth €2.4 bln, which was awarded in 2021. The line will connect London and Birmingham and be launched in a few years. It is the first domestic line, as the HS1 runs from London to the Channel Tunnel.
