Britain’s Anglia Railways franchise launched its first refurbished inter-city train set for London Liverpool Street - Norwich services on June 9.
A Class 86 locomotive and a push-pull set of MkIIf coaches have been turned out in a bright turquoise livery with a cream stripe. The Forward Trust-owned stock was refurbished under a contract with Bombardier Transportation and the work was undertaken at Wessex Traincare at Eastleigh, where the coaches were stripped down to bare metal, rust spots treated, and poor exterior panels replaced.
Inside, interior panelling has been re-finished or replaced with new parts supplied by Copon, resulting in an ’as-new’ look. Seats have been re-covered with moquette supplied by British Furtex Fabrics Ltd, and carpets replaced with new ones from Wilton of Salisbury. New curtains, tables and some new seat shells have been supplied by Richmond.
One notable innovation is the upgraded public address system supplied by DAC Ltd. As the message chime sounds in each coach a meter gauges the ambient noise level in the coach, and adjusts the sound level accordingly. Messages can also be restricted to individual parts of the train such as first class coaches only. The exterior two-pack paint was supplied by PPG. Bogies have been extensively refurbished, with steel bushes replaced by polymer, which lessens maintenance as little oiling is required. New Adtranz wheelsets have been fitted. The second set to be refurbished will enter works on July 26. o
