Transport for Wales (TfW) has completed the refurbishment of its long distance fleet of class 158 diesel trains.
The work forms part of a £40m investment for its diesel fleet that also include class 170 and 150 rolling stock.
Following the enacting of the operator of last resort mechanism, Transport of Wales took over running of the Wales & Borders franchise from KeolisAmey last year. KeolisAmey said the pandemic and resulting fall in passenger numbers had made it commercially unviable.
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The class 158 trains, for which refurbishment work started in 2020, operate on routes throughout the Wales and Borders network, including the Cambrian Line in Mid Wales and services to North and West Wales.
The investment has seen the trains having USB charging points installed, as well as re-covered seats, new carpets and interior fittings. The trains have also been rebranded on the outside with TfW’s grey and red livery.
Work was also undertaken improving the reliability of the trains, with improvements to the electrical, heating and wheel slide protection (WSP) systems. This will ensure the trains are available more frequently for service.
TfW said the refurbishment has come in under budget and around three months ahead of schedule.
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It is also investing more than £800m on a fleet of brand new trains, which will begin to enter service across the Wales and Borders network later in 2022. This includes new tram-trains and trimodes which will operate on the Vale of Glamorgan, Coryton, and Core Valley Lines into Cardiff when the current programme of electrification is on is completed
Jerry Howells, TfW’s head of asset management, said:“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.”
Neil Morrey, TfW’ refurbishment project manager, said: “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.”