OLD met new during a special event at York Station today to celebrate the launch of Azuma train services to York.

The famous locomotive Mallard - holder of the world speed record for steam locomotives at 126 mph - was brought out of its usual exhibition space at the National Railway Museum in York to meet the newest train on the block, Azuma, as part of LNER’s media launch.

Crowds gathered as the trains were positioned side by side at the station. The event was held ahead of Azuma passenger services launching between London, York, North East England and Edinburgh on Thursday, August 1.

After a short ceremony, the preview Azuma train made a short journey to Darlington where it was welcomed by the legendary Flying Scotsman. It was the first time an Azuma train had set off from York.

David Horne, LNER managing director, said: “This week marks a new turning point for rail travel in Britain with LNER’s Azuma trains launching on our iconic route, connecting the region with Scotland and London.”

At York Station, Mr Horne spoke about what people can expect when the Azuma services begin serving York from Thursday. He said: “The first thing people will see is a brand new train and it has got extra seats. So each of our Azuma trains has about 100 extra seats compared to our existing trains. And that’s so important because the number of people using the rail network has grown significantly over the years so we need to keep pace with that.

“People will also notice how quicker the Azuma is, they will notice it has got state-of-the-art wi-fi, which is so key of course to our customer experience these days and this is combined with a great service that our team on board will serve to our customers during the journey. So it’s a real transformation for travel on the LNER route.”

Among those who attended the event at York Station was steam traction inspector Jim Smith, of DB Cargo, the organisation that was contracted to bring the Mallard from the railway museum into the station.

He said: “Its excellent to see these trains here together in the station, showing both the past and the present of the train service.

“Hopefully the new Azuma can stand the test of time like the Mallard.”

Cllr Keith Aspden, leader of City of York Council, added: “York is proud of its deep-rooted connection with the rail industry and it is encouraging to see the new and significant investment being used to improve services on the East Coast Mainline.

“The launch of the first Azuma train from York is a major step in transforming rail services for the region and our communities, and we must continue to work hard and lobby the Government to ensure improvements are maintained on our railways to the benefit of the city and the North of England as a whole.” Sixty five new Azuma trains will be replacing all of the existing LNER fleet of 45 trains by summer 2020.

The inaugural northbound London King’s Cross to York service on Thursday will depart King’s Cross at 11.06am before arriving into York at 1.29pm. The train then becomes the 2.02pm York to London King’s Cross service and will arrive into King’s Cross at 4.23pm.

The Azuma trains, built in County Durham, are already serving destinations between Leeds, Bradford, Skipton and Hull with London King’s Cross.