Published on: Wednesday, 10 April 2013
Last updated: Wednesday, 5 October 2016
The team at Greater Anglia's Clacton-on-Sea maintenance depot has recently completed an upgrade programme for 17 of its Class 321 electric trains (representing a total of 68 carriages in all) that provide services on the London Liverpool Street to Braintree, Clacton-on-Sea/Walton-on-the-Naze, Chelmsford/Colchester, Harwich, Ipswich and Southend Victoria lines.
The 17 Class 321/4 trains were formerly operated by London Midland and were mostly transferred for use in East Anglia during 2010. Greater Anglia commenced a programme of refurbishment for these trains last year as part of the company’s franchise commitments. The upgrade was completed at the end of March.
The trains received new floor coverings and seat covers with a smart new design. Other interior equipment in the trains including body side panels and seat trims have also been renewed and any damaged seat shells repaired. Wherever possible, Greater Anglia has worked with local companies in obtaining materials and hardware for the train upgrade.
Daren Lording, Clacton Depot Manager said: “I'm very proud of our team who have successfully delivered the improvement programme for these Class 321 trains on-time and on-budget. This is work that we have not undertaken on this type of scale before and it is to everyone's credit that the outcome has delivered a much improved environment for our customers."
John Ratcliffe, Engineering Director for Greater Anglia added: "I am very pleased this project has been delivered by the ‘in-house’ team at Clacton, and I should like to congratulate Daren and his colleagues for the quality they've been able to achieve for work more traditionally done at much bigger main workshops.”