The first of 29 six-car Hitachi Rail Systems Class 395 'Bullet Trains' No. 395001 arrived at Southampton Eastern Docks on 23 August 2007 after a seven week sea crossing from Japan on board the massive Wallenius Willhemsen 'Ro-Ro' ship MV Tarago.

The set, split into individual coaches for transport, had each coach mounted on wheeled frames which were hauled to the docks rail yard for railing using two road cranes. After offloading, unpacking and a detailed inspection, certification is expected by Network Rail to authorise the unit to be hauled by EWS between brake force runners as 7X95, 21.24 Southampton Eastern Docks to the new Ashford Hitachi depot on Thursday 30 August 2007.

Between now and Christmas four Class 395s will be delivered to the UK via Southampton, the next being in October, with commissioning at Ashford before type test approval runs are made by the year end and all through 2008 on both Network Rail domestic tracks and HS1. Two sets of safety case are required, one for each system. The set will also take part in the official opening of St Pancras International and the formal opening of the new Ashford depot.

The remaining 25 Class 395s will be delivered one set per week from January 2009 in time for a service introduction later that year. All 20 sets are funded by HSBC Rail and are the first 140mph domestic EMUs in the UK and indeed the first Japanese trains in the UK.

A huge team of Hitachi engineers greeted the arrival of the train at Southampton Docks and commenced the task of unpacking the train and making it ready for movement. At this stage the set is painted in a very high-quality dark blue, but some form of name and branding is likely to be applied before introduction. The sets are numbered on the cab sides of driving cars and not on unit ends. Coach numbers take a new 3xxxx series, with one driving car of set No. 395001 carrying the number 39016, while its attached intermediate vehicle is numbered 39015.