Northern Rail passengers in the North East are starting to notice the effects of a refresh project that is getting underway across the train operator’s fleet of Class 142 trains.
Northern operates over 150 Class 142 vehicles or ‘pacers’ as they are commonly known in the industry.
The refreshed trains will be instantly recognisable by the vibrant purple and royal blue upholstery; and will also feature improved lighting. The work started at the end of last year and will be keeping the fleet teams at Northern busy with each refit of two carriages taking an average of a fortnight to complete.
The refresh includes replaced flooring, repainted interiors, vestibule ends and seat repairs.
Northern plans to include 58 vehicles in the improvement project and forms part of Northern’s continued promise to its passengers to improve journeys throughout the network.
Passengers travelling on routes in the North East to Morpeth, Newcastle-Carlisle, Durham Coast, Saltburn and Whitby, will be able to spot the improvements.
Stuart Draper, Engineering Director for Northern Rail comments: “We are known to have some of the oldest trains on the rail network and this refurbishment project is testament to our passengers that we are committed to improving their journeys with us.
Customers have told us they’d like to see an improvement in the on-board environment and we’re passionate about acting on these requests. These refurbishments to our fleet in the North East add to the carriages we have already improved and we hope passengers will notice the developments as we plan more for 2013.”