Better trains for rail passengers in Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire

Published on: Thursday, 2 February 2017
Last updated: Thursday, 2 February 2017

Rail passengers in Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire are to benefit from cleaner, smarter trains with more seats and plug points, as Greater Anglia commences an upgrade of its Class 170 fleet.

The train operator’s eight three-carriage and four two-carriage trains, in operation on routes across the Greater Anglia network including the Norwich to Cambridge, Ipswich to Cambridge, Ipswich to Lowestoft and Norwich to Lowestoft lines, will receive a complete overhaul, including:

Six more seats on every three carriage train

Repainting in Greater Anglia’s red and white livery

Plug sockets to allow people to charge laptops and smartphones while they travel

Refurbished seats which will receive new cushions, seat back and new covers;

new carpets;

interior repainting of the vestibule area;

new flooring in the toilets;

a refurbishment of the heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems;

new wall panels;

repainted grab handles and grab rails;

and a deep clean throughout.

The work is being carried out by Arriva Traincare at their facility in Crewe under contract to Porterbrook Leasing who are investing £5 million into the upgrade, with the first train due to return to passenger service in the Spring.

The project is expected to be completed in early 2018.

Greater Anglia’s Customer Service Director, Andrew Goodrum, commented: “As part of the new nine year franchise we will replace our entire fleet of trains with 1,043 brand new carriages, but in the meantime, I’m delighted that the refurbishment of our fleet of Class 170 trains will provide improved comfort and a better travelling experience for our customers.”