Alstom has completed the GBP 117 million (EUR 137.3 million) Class 390 Pendolino train refurbishment programme of Avanti West Coast.
The departure of the 56th and the last Pendolino from the Alstom Transport Technology Centre at Widnes on 24 June marked the end of the project which has seen 574 refurbished carriages delivered in just over two years, at a rate of one completed train every two weeks.
The last train, 390020, entered into service on 24 June working the 08:43 service from Liverpool Lime Street to London Euston.
The Pendolinos have served routes between London, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow, and Edinburgh for close to 20 years and the upgrade has returned the whole Pendolino fleet to an ‘as new’ condition.
Pendolino train refurbishment programme included 25,000 new, ergonomic Standard Class seats with power points at every seat and additional luggage space in Standard Class, introduction of a new onboard shop, improved lighting, refurbished First Class and Standard Premium, greater use of technology with customer-friendly passenger information screens.
The refurbishment also included new carpets throughout using sustainable British wool as well as the conversion of one First Class carriage on each of the 35 11-carriage Pendolinos to provide more than 2,000 extra Standard Class seats.
“The refurbished Pendolinos, together with our new Evero fleet, are a key part of our mission to transform rail travel for our customers on the west coast route. The Pendolino is an iconic train, and now even better than before, offering customers a much-improved travel experience, with innovation and sustainability at its heart,” Andy Mellors, Managing Director at Avanti West Coast said.
UK suppliers are also benefitting from 80 percent of the GBP 117m investment, which is financed by Angel Trains, one of the UK’s leading train Asset Management companies.
The investment in the Pendolino fleet is just part of the changes that have taken place on the west coast route. These include the ground-breaking Standard Premium and innovative Superfare tickets which continue to grow in popularity, and recent launch into service of the brand-new Evero fleet.
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