Some of you may remember our report regarding Avanti West Coast and its plans to refurbish its fleet of 56 Pendolinos.
Today the first of these refurbished trains operated the 0505 between Manchester and London Euston.
According to Avanti West Coast travellers will be able to experience more comfortable seats, a revamped shop and better on-board catering.
All told the investment will cost £117 million and these 56 trains will be refurbished by 2024.
In the meantime that single unit (a second will join next month) will be deployed on the main business routes from London Euston which include Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Edinburgh (via West Coast Mainline) and Glasgow.
Avanti West Coast has produced two videos which show both the standard and first class interiors.
Avanti West Coast MD Phil Whittingham says:
“This investment has been one of our key promises to our customers and they will see a dramatic transformation of our well-loved fleet.
“The Pendolinos look and feel like new trains with state-of-the-art technology as well as brand new seats that promise best-in-class comfort.”
The train operator has had to upgrade its flagships because Anglo-Scottish rival LNER now operates a new fleet of Azuma trains across its network.
But when it comes to on-board first class catering one suspects Avanti West Coast has the edge (although LNER has since upgraded its offer too). Onboard catering is complimentary in first class.
First class catering has been upgraded throughout the day but many business people believe it’s breakfast that really matters.
See our report “Breakfast wars.”
