CrossCountry has officially welcomed passengers onboard the first refurbished Voyager train, marking a key milestone in a 75 million GBP investment to upgrade the existing fleet tackling journeys across Britain.

Recently launched at Alstom’s Litchurch Lane works in Derby; the first train (unit number 220033) travelled more than 5.8 million miles before its refurbishment.

The first refurbished train entered service on Wednesday 24 February

© CrossCountry

The train’s maiden voyage saw it depart from Alstom’s Central Rivers depot for Birmingham New Street, where it picked up passengers travelling on the 14:28 service from Birmingham to Newcastle before returning along the same route at 18:33 – clocking up a total of 479 miles in its first day of service.

The refurbishment programme aims to deliver a complete refresh of both the interior and exterior of each train, with all 70 CrossCountry long-distance fleet set to receive new seating with increased legroom and improved under-seat storage, integrated power at each seat, upgraded tables, new carpets, refreshed artwork, more efficient LED lighting, refurbished toilets and vestibules, and upgraded onboard CCTV, forward-facing cameras and automatic passenger counters.

CrossCountry’s Managing Director, Shiona Rolfe, said:

The Voyager fleet has been a backbone of Britain’s long-distance rail network for more than two decades. Giving them this new lease of life will ensure they are a mainstay on our network for more years to come – but more importantly, that they deliver a complete transformation in journey experience for our passengers.

The newly-refurbished Voyager train will enter normal passenger service on CrossCountry’s long-distance routes from Birmingham towards Manchester, Bristol and the South West, Reading and Bournemouth, and Yorkshire, the North East and Scotland.

Alongside improvements to its long-distance Voyager fleet; CrossCountry is also carrying out a refresh programme on its Class 170 Turbostar fleet, with several new-look trains now serving routes between Birmingham, Leicester and Stansted Airport, and Cardiff, Birmingham and Nottingham.

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