All 56 Avanti West Coast Pendolino trains have now been fully refurbished the Company has announced
The departure of the last Pendolino from rail manufacturer Alstom’s Widnes facility marked the end of the project – the UK’s biggest ever fleet upgrade. It 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 yesterday (Monday 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.
The project has seen 25,000 new, ergonomic Standard Class seats and the Conversion of one First Class carriage on each of the 35 eleven-carriage Pendolinos to provide more than 2,000 extra Standard Class seats with power points at every seat,refurbished toilets and new carpets throughout using sustainable British wool.
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.”
