Published on: Friday, 28 April 2017
Last updated: Thursday, 14 December 2017
Rail passengers in Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire are to benefit from cleaner, smarter trains with more seats and plug points, as Greater Anglia’s latest Class 170 train to be refurbished re-enters passenger service on Saturday (29th April).
170 280 is the first train to return from refurbishment fitted with six extra seats. This has been achieved by removing a redundant storage area in the middle of carriage of the three-carriage train.
The train has also received a complete overhaul and now features plug sockets, refurbished seats with new cushions, backs and covers, new carpets, new flooring in the toilets, refurbished heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, new wall panels, repainted vestibules, grab handles and grab rails, a deep clean throughout and a new livery in Greater Anglia colours.
The work was carried out by Arriva Traincare at their facility in Crewe under contract to Porterbrook Leasing who are investing £5 million into the upgrade of Greater Anglia’s eight three-carriage and four two-carriage trains which operate on routes including the Norwich to Cambridge, Ipswich to Cambridge, Ipswich to Lowestoft and Norwich to Lowestoft lines. Every three-carriage train will have six more seats installed.
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.”