INTERNAL REFRESH COMPLETE FOR GRAND CENTRAL CLASS 180S
Published at 20:48 on Monday 16th December 2019
Tags: Grand Central, Arriva TrainCare, Eastleigh, Class 180, Adelante
The new look Standard Class interior to the Grand Central Class 180 fleet. Grand Central
Grand Central has completed a £9 million refurbishment programme to modernise its entire fleet of Class 180 ‘Adelante’ trains.
The final set to be refurbished returned to service concluding a two-year programme that the company says was designed to offer increased comfort for passengers. Among the transformation, there has been a full interior refresh, new seats with fabric and leather edging in standard class, new floor covering throughout, as well as a full refit of the toilet facilities, together with improved disabled access and baby changing facilities.
The refurbishment retains the elements important to Grand Central customers including plenty of leg room and table seating. The revamped catering facilities include barista coffee machines, while LED lighting has been installed along with power sockets for charging mobile phones, laptops and other electrical devices.
The programme was carried out by Arriva TrainCare (ATC) at Eastleigh, and is the largest such project that Grand Central has undertaken in its 12 year history. Among the 10 upgraded trains were five which were transferred from Great Western Railway, which have also been reliveried into Grand Central colours.
The announcement of the project’s completion comes as Grand Central is set to introduce a new route between Blackpool and London Euston, along the West Coast Main Line next year, and will expand its East Coast operation, having recently been granted access rights by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) to operate an additional daily return service between Sunderland and London King’s Cross until at least 2021. The new service will include a call at Eaglescliffe and on weekdays should depart from Sunderland around 10:00, with a mid-afternoon return from King's Cross, although the start date is yet to be confirmed. The additional Sunday workings will be similar times, but with a later departure from the Captal in the afternoon.
