Published on: Monday, 22 December 2014
Last updated: Wednesday, 5 October 2016
Abellio Greater Anglia's refurbishment programme for its intercity MkIII carriages begins on 22 December at the company's Crown Point Depot in Norwich.
The significant refresh will see all of the train operator's MkIII fleet enhanced, with improvements throughout for both First Class and Standard carriages including, plug points; new LED lighting; new carpets; new tables; new seat covers; upgraded environmentally-friendly controlled emission toilets with new floors and new taps; re-painting of the carriage interior saloon and vestibule panels, walls and ceilings.
Exterior painting of all carriages is also being undertaken as part of a separate programme already underway.
The work will be carried out at a specially prepared facility at Abellio Greater Anglia's Crown Point Depot in Norwich by the company's partner for the project Vossloh Kiepe. The first refurbished carriages are due to enter service in the first quarter of next year, with the full programme completed by the end of the train operator's current short franchise in October 2016.
As announced earlier this week as part of the wider MkIII upgrade programme, a number of carriages will be modified to enable more Standard seats to be provided - over 2,500 a day or over 600,000 a year.
Commenting on the start of the refurbishment programme, Abellio Greater Anglia's Managing Director Jamie Burles said: "We are delighted to begin this major refresh for our MkIII carriages, which will deliver a significant improvement in the travelling environment for passengers on our key intercity services between Norwich, Ipswich, Colchester and London. We look forward to unveiling the first completed carriage, which is due to be in service in February 2015."