10 September 2002
A major refurbishment programme, which includes the upgrade of the Enterprise fleet of trains, is currently being conducted by Translink in a move to further improve customer service.
This initiative is an important part of Translink’s overall programme of investment in Northern Ireland’s rail network and follows on from the recently announced £80million contract for the manufacture and supply of 23 new trains.
As part of the refurbishment programme, and to act as a stop-gap measure until the new trains are fully operational in 2004/2005, Translink has also purchased eight new coaches from the UK to supplement its existing fleet.
The coaches were formerly used to service the busy route from Gatwick Airport to Victoria Station. And while many commuters to London will be familiar with the ‘Gatwick Express’ service, the new coaches have been fully adapted to meet the needs of the travelling public in NI.
Having undergone extensive renovations, the new-coaches are fully kitted out with new seating, carpets and air-conditioning and are now fully operational on the Belfast to Newry line.
The £2 million project to upgrade and refurbish of the entire Enterprise Service (28 trains), which operates between Belfast and Dublin, will take 18 months to complete with each train being out of duty for an eight week period. Involving both exterior and mechanical refurbishment, the work will include re-panelling, re-spraying, new seating, along with the overhaul of all mechanical equipment. The end result will be an ‘as new’ look and feel for the entire fleet, which is shared 50/50 between NIR and Iarnrod Eireann.
Commenting on the project, Translink’s Ian Campbell said:
“Both of these initiatives form a vitally important part of our on-going programme of investment and refurbishment. Our priority is to provide all our customers with an effective and efficient rail service and this initiative aims to meet this objective in a way which causes minimum disruption or disturbance to those same customers. We are confident the end result will significantly enhance Northern Ireland’s public transport network.”
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