Transport for Wales (TfW) has completed the refurbishment of its Class 158 train fleet.
The work has been taking place at the Arriva TrainCare facility in Crewe since the beginning of 2020. In total, 24 long-distance trains have been refurbished. These trains run on routes across the Wales and Borders network, such as the Cambrian Line in mid-Wales and services to North and West Wales.
The first refurbished train re-entered service in February 2020 with USB charging points, re-covered seats, new carpets and new interior fittings. In addition, the trains have been given TfW’s grey and red livery on their exterior.
Other aspects of the refurbishment works have included improvements such as to the electrical, heating and wheel slide protection systems. These updates should mean the trains will be more available for service.
The upgrades to the Class 158 fleet are part of TfW’s 40 million GBP refurbishment programme, which has also included improvements to the Class 175, 150 and 153 trains. Beyond that, TfW is investing more than 800 million GBP on a new fleet of trains, which will start carrying passengers on the Wales and Borders network later in 2022.
“It's fantastic to be able to deliver these improvements for customers, which they rightly expect to see on a modern railway network. We know being able to travel in comfort and charge devices on the go are incredibly important to our customers, whether they are travelling for 20 minutes or four hours, for business or pleasure.”
“While we are building brand new trains, they take time to build and we want our customers to have a comfortable experience as soon as possible. We’re particularly proud to have delivered this work 102 days ahead of schedule and under budget.”
