News, nostalgia, preservation and modelling

FHT 'Adelantes' to get £5m upgrade

First Hull Trains has announced the beginning of a major mechanical and electrical modification and reliability improvement project on the company’s fleet of trains.

Part of a £5 million overhaul of the entire Class 180 'Adelante' fleet, all four of the company’s trains, along with those of other train operating companies, will go through a comprehensive programme to offer an improvement to reliability in the future.

Work will include improvements to the provision of on-board heating and air conditioning, the fitting of new bogies to improve ride quality and enhancements to ensure that electrical supplies are constantly maintained within the passenger areas of the train. Overall the programme involves 15 'mini-projects' on each train unit with the work taking about three weeks per train and the whole programme should be completed by early summer 2012.

The first train unit has already started the programme at Loughborough and to support the remaining fleet an alternative unit has been acquired to allow First Hull Trains to minimise delays and disruption and to help to deliver an on-time service every day.

It is the intention to use the additional train on a minimal basis as without facilities such as Wi-Fi and at seat electrical sockets it is unable to offer the full range of services that regular customers would expect. As the train is not one of the recently refurbished First Hull Trains services, the interior seating and general environment along with the external livery will also look and feel different.

However, exceptional customer service will still be provided by the company’s onboard staff who will do everything possible to make sure that the journey experience is as good as ever. The cafe bar will remain open with great meal deals and special offers to tempt passengers on their way, while those passengers travelling in First class will continue to enjoy complimentary food and refreshments served to their seat.

First Hull Trains’ management team and staff would like to thank customers in advance for their patience while they continue to improve the trains so that they can provide an even better service in the future.