THE first of the new electric trains which will run between South Wales and London made its first scheduled stop at Newport today.

The Hitachi 800 left London Paddington at 11.45am to make its first journey into Wales, calling at Newport on its way to Swansea.

Trains in the £5.7 billion fleet will reach speeds of up to 125mph upon their initial rollout.

The 10-carriage service has 24 per cent more seating capacity than its predecessor, the High Speed Train, and will boast 40 per cent more seats.

The Hitachi 800 runs on both diesel and electric power meaning it can enter service before electrification of the London to South Wales line is complete.

An earlier journey from Bristol to London today saw one the new trains delayed due to a fault with its air conditioning this morning.