05/08/2008

A multi-million-pound refurbishment of East Midlands Trains’ Class 158 trains starts this week.

The first of the Class 158 trains, 158 783, starts its refurbishment this week, and will be complete by early October. The work will be carried out in Derby by Delta Rail.

The full refurbishment programme, which will be carried out over the next 20 months, will see all 25 of the company’s Class 158 trains going through a complete overhaul.

This will include:

• All trains repainted in the new East Midlands Trains livery
• Internal refurbishment of every train, which includes improvements to seating design and capacity. In addition, a new toilet area will be included as part of the refurbishment programme
• Modification to various systems on the train to bring improved reliability
• Improved air conditioning units fitted to the majority of these trains to improve the reliability and efficiency
• Introduction of CCTV on every train
• Installation of a passenger counting device – an innovative piece of technology that allows passenger flows to be monitored, a first for East Midlands Trains.

Chris Elliott, East Midlands Trains Project Manager for the refurbishment programme, said: “This is the start of a very exciting time for East Midlands Trains. Several months of planning and design are now starting to come to fruition as the first of our Class 158 trains goes in to Delta Rail for its makeover.

“We’re looking forward to the launch of the first refurbished train in October, and we know its new look and improved facilities will get a big thumbs up from our passengers!”

This refurbishment is just part of the £90m of investment during the life of the East Midlands franchise, operated by Stagecoach Group.

The programme - which will deliver improvements in areas that impact directly on performance, reliability and customer service - includes:

• Upgrade to Derby train maintenance depot
• Investment in stations, additional customer help points, refurbished waiting areas, improved lighting and facilities
• New timetable in December 2008, offering faster journey times and increased capacity
• The opening of two brand new stations - East Midlands Parkway and Corby
• Improved journey times on the route to London

ENDS

For media enquiries, please contact:
East Midlands Trains Press Office
Tel: 01332 262010

For more information about Stagecoach Group, contact:
Steve Stewart, Director of Corporate Communications
T. 01738 442111 or mobile 07764 774680
Email: steven.stewart@stagecoachgroup.com

NOTES TO EDITORS

Stagecoach Group

Stagecoach Group is a leading international transportation group, with extensive bus and rail operations in the UK and North America. Stagecoach operates South West Trains, the UK's biggest commuter rail network with nearly 1,700 trains a day out of London Waterloo. In addition, Stagecoach has a 49% shareholding in Virgin Rail Group, which operates passenger rail services on the West Coast main line. Stagecoach is also Britain’s biggest tram operator, running systems in both Sheffield and Manchester.

East Midlands Trains

East Midlands Trains operates high-speed long distance services from London St. Pancras to Sheffield, Derby and Nottingham and regional services between Nottingham and Derby – Lincoln – Cleethorpes – Skegness, and between Derby and Crewe - Matlock and Norwich and Liverpool.

The franchise started on 11 November 2007 and will run until 31 March 2015, the last year and four months of which will be conditional upon achieving pre-set performance targets.