Virgin Trains is to spend £21 million refurbishing its fleet of 45 trains operating on the East Coast route.
The rail firm, which took over the East Coast franchise in March 2015, said that the money will be spent on renovating the interiors of 401 carriages including new seats, refurbished toilets, new carpets and the installation of leather seats in First Class carriages.
Virgin said the refurbishment was part of its plans to invest £140 million over the next eight years and the first refitted train will start operating on December 14 when the new service between London and Sunderland is launched.
David Horne, managing director of Virgin Trains East Coast, said: “Since Virgin started running this railway, the bar has been raised by customers who rightly demand a high quality customer experience, something which they would expect from a Virgin business, as well as getting great value for money.
“We’re investing now so our customers can benefit from new seats and a great new onboard environment before we get a new fleet of 65 trains from 2018.”
The new Super Express trains will be introduced on the East Coast route in three years time as part of the government’s Intercity Express programme.