First phase of avanti pendolino refurbishment completed

390135 entered Alstom’s facility at Wigan in mid-August, becoming the 35th – and final – Class 390/1 to undergo refurbishment work. Attention will next turn to refurbishing the 21 Class 390/0 sub-class units. On September 19, 2022, 390135 pauses on Platform 3 at Preston working 1S94, the 18.30 London Euston to Glasgow Central AWC service. Tom McAtee

ALSTOM HAS completed internal refurbishment work on the 35-strong Avanti West Coast Class 390/1 11-coach Pendolino fleet, 390135 becoming the final Class 390/1 to enter Widnes in mid-August.

Work began in the summer of 2021, when 390125 was admitted to Alstom at Widnes to become the first 11-coach Pendolino to be treated. It involved the complete stripping out of the trains, with one of the previous First Class coaches converted into a Standard Class coach. The original shop was also removed from the trains – which originally entered traffic with Virgin West Coast more than 20 years ago – and replaced with a new, less obtrusive design. Wireless phone charging, plug and phone charging sockets were installed at every seat, and seating availability information screens added.

The first refurbished train took several months to complete, but the work rate at Alstom has seen the vast majority completed in about a fortnight.

Work now begins on the second phase of the project, with the 21 nine-coach Class 390/0s next up, the first expected to be 390045 – which should have entered Wi