First Capital Connect is investing ”2.7m ($5.4m) in upgrades to its fleet of Class 365 trains operating on the Great Northern franchise, in addition to the ”16.3m the company has spent since acquiring the route in April 2006.
”This additional investment, on top of the ”27m we are investing in our class 319 fleet, is great news for our customers,” said deputy managing director and engineering director, Andy Cope.
”So far we have completed six units and the feedback from our customers has been very positive. It is currently taking five days to complete each unit, but as we become more experienced we anticipate this will be reduced to four days.”
A spokesperson for First Capital Connect confirmed to ABTN that there was ”no direct link” between ticket prices and the refurbishment programme and that there are currently no plans to up customer costs, as the money was secured from FirstGroup to improve the standard of the trains.
”First Capital Connect is determined to deliver real tangible improvements to our customers, through the major investment we have made in our first year and are continuing to make going forward,” added Cope.
”We know that crowding remains the single biggest issue for customers and we are currently consulting customers in relation to the Cambridge and Peterborough Capacity Study. We are expecting all 12 additional 319s for our Thameslink route, four in December and the remainder by December 2008, but we are continuing our efforts to bring these dates forward.”
Following completion of the 365 project, First plans to begin its ”refresh programme” on all remaining units for the Great Northern network, including Class 313 and 317 units.
The company operates 160 Class 365 units, amounting to 40 trains, and renovations to the fleet are due for completion by December 2007. New carpets, seat covers and internal panels will be added to all carriages, in addition to a new coat of paint. All toilets will also be upgraded with new washbasin facilities.