National Express East Anglia has completed the £100k interior upgrade of its fleet of Class 156 trains which form the majority of services operating on the rural routes from Norwich to Great Yarmouth, Lowestoft and Sheringham, as well as other services that operate between Ipswich and Cambridge, Felixstowe and Lowestoft.

To mark the completion of the upgrade which includes improved seats, tables and carpets, the final train in the fleet to receive the makeover was unveiled in the new National Express livery. The train was officially welcomed by key stakeholders including representatives of Norfolk and Suffolk County Councils and Community Rail Partnerships (CRPs) at 11.00 on Monday 10 March at Norwich station.

National Express East Anglia has worked closely with partners including Norfolk and Suffolk County Councils, the Bittern, Wherry and East Suffolk Line CRPs and Chapelfield Shopping Centre in Norwich, in developing an innovative sponsorship package with contributions from partners to help support the investment for the interior upgrade. These positive partnerships are reflected in some of the trains which feature designs and logos from Chapelfield and the CRPs

Clive Morris, Business Director for National Express East Anglia commented: ‘The completion of the upgrade of these popular trains represents a significant step-forward in passenger comfort, as well as demonstrating that local partnerships can deliver improvements making train travel more attractive. I am grateful to our partners from local authority and commerce backgrounds for their support with this initiative.’

The full roll out of the National Express East Anglia brand on the Class 156 and other trains will take place through a phased programme to achieve a visible, but cost effective transition, utilising planned refurbishment and maintenance schedules to apply the new livery to trains. Initially, other trains will receive a stripe showing the new identity, but the application of the full livery will be done on a staged basis, thereby ensuring investment is focused on customer service improvements.