TRAINS running on the Felixstowe-Ipswich line are set to get a makeover as part of a £250,000 project unveiled today.Anglia Railways is transforming the look of its Class 153 local trains and today showed off the first of the refurbished units, the Michael Palin.
By Richard Cornwell
TRAINS running on the Felixstowe-Ipswich line are set to get a makeover as part of a £250,000 project unveiled today.
Anglia Railways is transforming the look of its Class 153 local trains and today showed off the first of the refurbished units, the Michael Palin.
It's an Anglia Railways tradition to name its trains after historical figures and personalities with East Anglian connections – but the Michael Palin doesn't travel anywhere near as far as its globetrotting Python namesake.
The trains are all being given new interiors, including new seating, carpets, wall panels and door controls, an attractive new exterior livery in the familiar Anglia green and white, and a complete mechanical overhaul.
It represents a huge investment in the seven Class 153 single-carriage local trains, which with the two-carriage Class 150 trains are the mainstay of Anglia Railways' local fleet operating in Norfolk, Suffolk and parts of Cambridgeshire.
"It is extremely pleasing and very good news for our passengers that we are continuing to invest and improve the quality of our train fleet," said Tim Clarke, Anglia Railways' managing director.
"This further significant investment of £250,000 follows other recent improvements to our mainline fleet in upgrading the air conditioning and introducing a number of the newer and more powerful Class 90 locomotives.
"We will continue to identify other areas for improvement, working with our stakeholders and responding to customer feedback in our quest for service excellence."
The overhaul will provide passengers with much improved comfort and added benefits such as tactile buttons on the automatic doors.
Special cycle storage areas are retained and all the trains are equipped with portable ramps to aid access for the mobility impaired.
The improvement programme is being carried out at the company's Crown Point depot in Norwich by Anglia Railways' technicians and fleet engineers.
WEBLINK: www.angliarailways.co.uk
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