Avanti West Coast completes refurbishment of Pendolino fleet

Rail operator, Avanti West Coast, has completed the refurbishment of its 56 Pendolino trains that serve routes connecting London with Stockport and Manchester, other towns and cities throughout the North-west and Scotland.

The £117 million project is the biggest fleet upgrade ever carried out on Britain’s railways and has seen 574 carriages refurbished over two years, approximately equal to one train every two weeks. The final train, which serves passengers between London Euston and Liverpool Lime Street, re-entered service on 24th June after work completed.

Pendolino trains have served passengers on the West Coast Mainline for close to 20 years, and their refurbishment has returned them to an ‘as new’ condition. Work has included converting one First Class carriage on 35 trains to a Standard Class one to add 2,000 extra seats, as well as installation of customer-friendly passenger information schemes, additional luggage space, and a new onboard shop.

Andy Mellors, Managing Director at Avanti West Coast said:

“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.”

Peter Broadley, Alstom’s Services Managing Director UK who hosted an event at Widnes to mark the completion of the project, commented:

“Alstom’s successful completion of the UK’s biggest ever fleet upgrade demonstrates our commitment to enhancing the journey experience for fare-paying passengers while, at the same time, supporting the growth of sustainable rail travel in the UK.

“This milestone highlights the dedication and expertise of our team at Widnes. They have worked tirelessly in partnership with colleagues at Avanti West Coast, Angel Trains and our wider UK supply chain to elevate the interior refurbishment of rolling stock to another level. We are immensely proud to see the entire Alstom-built Pendolino fleet returning to service in peak condition.”

UK suppliers are also benefitting from 80 percent of the £117m investment, which is financed by Angel Trains, one of the UK’s leading train Asset Management companies.

Malcolm Brown, CEO of Angel Trains, said:

“A huge thank you to both Alstom and Avanti West Coast for making the UK’s biggest ever fleet upgrade possible. It’s significantly transformed our iconic trains, and I’m positive that passengers will enjoy the comfort and connectivity when they travel on one of our refurbished Pendolinos.

“This is exactly what the partnership between our businesses set out to achieve together, and I’m certain that it will encourage people to make a positive decision to travel by train on the West Coast Main Line.

“To demonstrate our commitment to continue developing talent within our suppliers and industry, Angel Trains is excited to announce that we’re sponsoring two apprentices to join Alstom’s Widnes facility later this year. I wish them every success in what I hope will be a long railway career ahead.”