Northern’s train refurbishment project nears completion

Rail operator Northern has announced it has almost completed the refurbishment of its trains as part of a £100 million transformation.

The current stage of refurbishment focuses on customer comfort and includes upgrades to seating, lighting, interior and exterior painting and toilets with baby changing facilities on its 260 train units. Work has been carried out at eight depots across the region, with the final unit (pictured) currently being worked on in Crewe.

Tricia Williams, Chief Operating Officer at Northern, said:

It’s fantastic to have reached such a key milestone in our bid to transform the the service for our customers.

“When this last train comes out of the depot it will mean all our customers, wherever and whenever they travel on our network, will make their journeys on new or refurbished trains.

“We are absolutely committed to making a positive impact for the north of England and there is no better way to do that than to give our customers better journeys on improved trains.”

The rail operator is now planning for the second phase of improvements, which will include delivering so-called ‘Digital Trains’ offering free WiFi, CCTV and enhanced customer information screens on-board, as well as behind the scenes technology to improve performance and reliability of servies.

The ongoing refurbishment of Northern’s trains was part of the Better Way to Go project which was initiated by former operator, Arriva Rail North. Enhancements to stations are also being delivered as part of the scheme, including improved ticketing, parking facilities and lighting. Tricia added:

Our customers are at the heart of everything we do and with all the improvements we are making to trains, stations and ticketing option we are delivering on our promise to give everyone a better way to go with Northern.”