Northern’s refurbishment programme reaches final milestone before completion

Credit: Northern

English train operating company Northern’s path to transforming its network and improving its trains has reached a significant milestone.

The final train (158861) to enter the company’s refurbishment programme has arrived at Arriva Train Care in Crewe and, in just a few weeks, all Northern trains will have been upgraded.

The £100 million train transformation programme includes more than 260 electric and diesel units and has been carried out at eight depots across the country. 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.

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 that all of 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.”

Despite reaching the landmark milestone, Northern has already started making improvements to those trains that have already been refurbished, and phase two of the programme will see even more enhancements.

The next stage, known as ‘Digital Trains’, will deliver free Wi-Fi, CCTV, enhanced and real time customer information screens and a raft of on-board systems designed to improve train performance and maintenance, meaning that more trains will be in operation more often.

The improvements that Northern is making to its trains form part of its wider campaign, Better Way to Go, which is also delivering enhancements to stations and the overall customer experience, including new and improved ways to find and buy tickets, improved car parks and station lighting.

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