Northern release first refurbished Class 333 into traffic

27th February 2019

Northern have reached another milestone in plans to refurbish their fleet of trains with news that the first completed Class 333 EMU is back in traffic. The train, which operates across West Yorkshire, boasts new livery, refreshed interiors with newly refurbished seats, and new LED lighting.

Customers had the opportunity to ride the refurbished unit for the first time this week and feedback has been excellent with some commenting that it “looks like a new train” and that it was “very bright and clean, a welcomed improvement.” The Class 333 EMU is also scheduled to go through a further phase of refurbishment to add further improvements at a later date.

The refurbishment is part of a wider plan to upgrade and modernise the Northern fleet of trains and the first of 101 new trains are currently being tested on the network with a view to starting scheduled passenger service this year. In addition to this, more than 400 stations will see improvements by 2020.

Jenny Dempsey, Refurbished Trains Project Manager, said: “The refurbishment programme has had a flying start to the year, and it’s always great when we complete a milestone like a first in class.

“We are working incredibly hard to deliver the promised refurbished trains and have completed improvements on around half of our current fleet – the remainder planned for completion by 2020.”

Author: Darren Porter
Image: Northern