Express & Star

Bigger, cleaner trains and more services on way

Bigger, cleaner trains, extra services and better wi-fi connections will be among the improvements planned for inter-city rail services in the West Midlands over the next three years.

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Welsh transport minister Ken Skates and Steve Montgomery, managing director of First Group launch the new rail franchise

Avanti West Coast announced it would be spending an extra £350 million on rolling stock as it launched its plans for the future.

The company, a partnership between the First Rail group and Italian rail operator Trenitalia, took over the franchise previously held by Virgin Trains earlier this month.

Steve Montgomery, managing director of First Rail, said the company would begin phasing out the Super Voyager diesel trains it inherited from Virgin in 2022, when they will be replaced by the new Hitachi AT100 trains.

Unlike the Super Voyagers, which went into service in 2001, the new trains will be able to switch between electric and diesel power, meaning that they will produce zero emissions along the electrified stretch between London and Wolverhampton. They can then switch to diesel power as they head north of Wolverhampton

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