Chris Grayling and Wales secretary Alun Cairns at Paddington with the new Hitachi express train UK GOVERNMENT WALES/PAThey have been billed as the future of intercity rail travel in Britain. However, there was something wearily familiar about the new fleet of high-tech trains that took to the tracks yesterday. The inaugural passenger service introduced as part of the £5.7 billion Intercity Express programme was blighted by overcrowding and a 41-minute delay. Chris Grayling, the transport secretary, was on board the first service out of Bristol. A section of seats on the inaugural journey were cordoned off after an air-conditioning fault @CRAIGMCCRUM/PAModelled on…

Source: The Times October 16, 2017 16:06 UTC