Intercity train upgrade scheme to provide over 600,000 extra seats per year

Abellio Greater Anglia's refresh programme for its intercity trains will now deliver over 2,500 extra standard seats every weekday, as a result of further improvements which will now be implemented as part of the £9 million rolling stock upgrade. The initiative, which starts in earnest in the New Year, will see seven catering vehicles converted from offering 24 First Class seats to providing 54 standard seats and another 29 standard carriages each gain an additional four seats. The intercity trains operate between Norwich and London, so passengers from Norwich, Diss, Stowmarket, Ipswich, Manningtree, Colchester and Chelmsford, as well as on connecting lines from Sheringham, Great Yarmouth, Lowestoft, Felixstowe, Harwich and Clacton will all see benefits from the increased seating capacity being added by the train operator.

The overall impact means that rather than over 1,600 extra standard seats being provided each week day, as was announced earlier this year, there will now be over 2,500 extra standard seats each weekday - equivalent to over 12,500 seats a week, over 50,000 seats a month or well over 600,000 seats a year.

The major refresh for the carriages will be undertaken by Vossloh Kiepe at Abellio Greater Anglia's Crown Point depot in Norwich and it has now been confirmed that there will be 15 additional jobs involved in delivering the programme, giving a boost for the local economy with more people based in Norwich over a 21 month period.

Jamie Burles, Managing Director, Abellio Greater Anglia said: "We are pleased to be able to increase the number of additional standard seats on our trains as part of our intercity train refurbishment programme. There will now be over 2,500 extra standard seats every weekday and over 600,000 available every year. On some services it will lead to an increase of up to 15% in standard seating.

“We're also glad that with our partners in the project Vossloh Kiepe undertaking the work at our Norwich Crown Point depot, there will be a boost for the local economy, with 15 jobs created locally during the course of the programme. We are committed to continuing to raise service standards for customers and communities across our network."