The refurbished fleet is comprised of 29 trains – totalling 80 carriages

A rail operator has removed the First Class area on a refurbished fleet of trains that will serve Midland stations, including Birmingham New Street, Leicester and Nottingham.

The removal of the First Class area on the revamped CrossCountry fleet was made to increase standard class seating as “passenger needs evolve.”

So far one unit has been completed, but a multi-million pound refurbishment programme will see the reintroduction of 29 trains in total. The inter-regional fleet is called Class 170 ‘Turbostar’ unit 170101.

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The programme is being carried out at Arriva TrainCare’s Crewe depot and funded by British rolling stock company Porterbrook, which owns the fleet.

This week saw the first train to have gone through the refurbishment programme in action.

Rail bosses said that over the coming months, the new-look trains will “transform journeys” on CrossCountry’s inter-regional routes: between Cardiff and Nottingham via Birmingham, and between Birmingham and Stansted Airport via Leicester.

A CrossCountry spokesperson explained: “The First-Class area on the Turbostar fleet has been removed to provide increased capacity and help to alleviate crowding on some services on CrossCountry’s inter-regional routes.”

Shiona Rolfe, CrossCountry’s managing director, said: “It’s fantastic to deliver our first refurbished Turbostar train for passengers on our inter-regional routes.

“We know that these trains provide the bulk of the train service for a good portion of our network, and we hope passengers enjoy the significant improvements in convenience and comfort on those journeys.”

Throughout 29 trains – totalling 80 carriages – the programme will deliver:

• New tables, seats and carpets;
• New mains and USB plug sockets at all seats;
• A full interior and exterior repaint across each carriage;
• Refreshed on-board toilets;
• Enhanced passenger information screens with more destination information;
• Increased Standard Class seating with the removal of the First Class area;
• New CCTV and automatic passenger counting equipment.

CrossCountry said the Turbostar refurbishment programme is currently scheduled to finish by 2028, with refurbishment of the CrossCountry’s Voyager fleet scheduled to begin later this year.

Ben Ackroyd, chief operating officer at Porterbrook, said: “As passenger needs evolve, it’s important that our trains do too. That’s why we continue to invest in our fleets to ensure they meet customer expectations.

“Alongside our partners at CrossCountry and Arriva TrainCare, we’re pleased to be able to present the first refurbished Class 170 into passenger service.”

Russell Fletcher, business development director at Arriva TrainCare said: “We’re delighted to be supporting CrossCountry with this significant refurbishment project. The team at our Crewe depot have been working hard to deliver the major fleet overhaul, which will greatly improve the passenger experience – benefitting existing customers at the same time as encouraging even more people to travel on CrossCountry’s services.”