FirstGroup announced that its rail operator TransPennine Express (TPE) has presented the first carriage from the second fleet of its brand new trains. The new modern trains will operate on routes across the North West and into Scotland from spring 2019. The new trains are being manufactured by Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF) in Spain and owned by Eversholt Rail. They will be maintained by at Alstom’s facilities at Longsight (Manchester) and Polmadie (Glasgow).
The new fleet forms part of TPE’s overall £500million (EUR 545 million) investment programme which will deliver more services, seats and an enhanced experience for customers.
“This is an exciting step towards providing brand new, state-of-the-art trains plus more seats for rail customers across the North and into Scotland,” Leo Goodwin, Managing Director for TransPennine Express said.
Each train will also feature display screens that provide real time reservations and new catering facilities tasty hot food and cold drinks to be served on-board. The 12 five carriage trains are being introduced along with two other fleets and together these will deliver 13 million more seats per year for customers giving an 80 per cent increase into the North’s five largest cities at the busiest times of day.
Currently the company’s existing trains are being treated to a full upgrade ensuring they are of the same high standard.
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