First Great Western has unveiled the first carriages featuring its new first class product.
Two carriages (41135 and 41110) went into service with the new product this week, with the rest to be completed by next summer.
The new interiors feature a reclining leather seat bearing “a contemporary interpretation of the classic GWR marquee”.
New facilities include USB power points for charging smartphones and tablets, and glass partitions between banks of seats to “reduce noise throughout the carriage and give a greater sense of privacy”.
From early 2015 free wifi will also be introduced all carriages – the rail operator has been trialling the technology on five trains running between London Paddington and the North Cotswolds, and it has already been fitted to its sleeper services.
First Great Western says that the new interiors “reflect the top three priorities of first class customers – space, privacy and productivity”.
As part of the refurbishment work on the operator’s high speed trains, and to increase the number of standard seats available, First Great Western is also converting one first class carriage per train into its standard offering (leaving either one or one and a half first class carriages per train).
The move will increase the standard capacity on these services by 3,000 seats or 16 per cent.
Mark Caswell