Operator:
East Midlands Railway
Trains
Class 222 'Meridian'

Here is some history on the class 222
the Class 222 has been in service since 2004 and were constructed by Bombardier Transportation at their Bruges factory in Belgium and a Total of 27 5,4 and 7-Car trains were built between 2003 and 2005 and are powered by a Cummins QSK19 6 cylinder diesel Engine.They have a maximum speed of 125mph.

The first operator to use these trains was Midland Mainline Where, because of their enhanced acceleration, they replaced Class 170 Turbostars and HST'S where they received 23 of the order for 27. these sets were 9 cars long and were intended for use on a service Between London St Pancras and Leeds but the SRA didn't allow them to run the service so they were put to work on services between London st Pancras Nottingham and Sheffield. at the end of 2006, Midland Mainline would Remove 1 car each from the 9 car sets and extended 7 of the 4 car sets cars.

This wasn't the only operator to use these trains as The other members of the class were taken up by Hull Trains where these units replaced Class 170 Turbostars in May of 2005. they reduced journey times by 20 minutes. these weren't branded as Meridians though as Hull Trains named their Units as Pioneers as they had nameplates of well known pioneer throughout the years. including 222104 which was named Sir Terry Farrell. However, From 2009, Hull Trains transferred their fleet to East Midlands Trains after the introduction of class 180 Adelante units on Hull Trains services.

When EMT took over from Midland Mainline, all of the 222's were given a refurbishment with the most notable change being the installation of new seat covers to both standard and First class. First Class however though, did receive new seat covers and was given a brand new carpets and new colour scheme for these.

As of today, all 27 of the class 222's are listed as in service and they are being supplemented by ex-Hull Trains Class 180 Adelante units but thanks to the franchise holder of the MML, East Midlands Railway, it is intended that they'll be replaced by newer units from 2023, Designated as class 810, the first of the new trains are being built by Hitachi at their Newton Acyliffe factory.

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