CrossCountry Welcomes First Passengers Onboard Refurbished Voyager Train

CrossCountry has officially welcomed passengers onboard the first refurbished Voyager train, marking a key milestone in a 75 million GBP investment to upgrade the existing fleet tackling journeys across Britain.

Recently launched at Alstom’s Litchurch Lane works in Derby; the first train (unit number 220033) travelled more than 5.8 million miles before its refurbishment.

The train’s maiden voyage saw it depart from Alstom’s Central Rivers depot for Birmingham New Street, where it picked up passengers travelling on the 14:28 service from Birmingham to Newcastle before returning along the same route at 18:33 – clocking up a total of 479 miles in its first day of service.

The refurbishment programme aims to deliver a complete refresh of both the interior and exterior of each train, with all 70 CrossCountry long-distance fleet set to receive new seating with increased legroom and improved under-seat storage, integrated power at each seat, upgraded tables, new carpets, refreshed artwork, more efficient LED lighting, refurbished toilets and vestibules, and upgraded onboard CCTV, forward-facing cameras and automatic passenger counters.

CrossCountry’s Managing Director, Shiona Rolfe, said:

The Voyager fleet has been a backbone of Britain’s long-distance rail network for more than two decades. Giving them this new lease of life will ensure they are a mainstay on our network for more years to come – but more importantly, that they deliver a complete transformation in journey experience for our passengers.

The newly-refurbished Voyager train will enter normal passenger service on CrossCountry’s long-distance routes from Birmingham towards Manchester, Bristol and the South West, Reading and Bournemouth, and Yorkshire, the North East and Scotland.

Alongside improvements to its long-distance Voyager fleet; CrossCountry is also carrying out a refresh programme on its Class 170 Turbostar fleet, with several new-look trains now serving routes between Birmingham, Leicester and Stansted Airport, and Cardiff, Birmingham and Nottingham.