EUR 70 Million Alstom Contract to Transform CrossCountry's Voyager Trains with New Interiors and Livery

Alstom has signed a significant EUR 70 million contract to refurbish CrossCountry’s Voyager trains, enhancing the onboard experience for passengers.

The project will see substantial updates to both the interior and exterior of the trains, including new seats, tables, and an exterior repaint in CrossCountry’s updated livery.

The refurbishment project will take place at Alstom’s historic Derby Litchurch Lane facility, where 312 cars, including 136 Voyager (Class 220) and 176 Super Voyager (Class 221) vehicles, will transform. This includes 252 cars from CrossCountry’s current fleet and an additional 12 trains, totaling 60 more carriages, being transferred from Avanti West Coast.

The upgrades go beyond aesthetics, with new carpets, improved lighting, and a modern passenger counting system also part of the refurbishment. Sustainability is a key focus for the project, with the new Voyager seats designed to be 95% recyclable and 98% recoverable. The use of lighter materials throughout the trains will help reduce fuel consumption and carbon emissions, aligning with Alstom’s commitment to environmentally friendly transport solutions.

Peter Broadley, Managing Director, Services UK and Ireland at Alstom, said, "For more than 20 years, CrossCountry’s Voyagers have proudly served towns and cities across Great Britain – traveling millions of miles in the process. We now look forward to giving these iconic Alstom-built trains some well-deserved TLC with a comprehensive overhaul that will include new seats, onboard technology enhancements, and an exterior repaint." Broadley also highlighted the positive impact on UK suppliers and skilled jobs across the country, with around 100 Alstom staff set to work on the contract.

Owned by Beacon Rail, funding the upgrade, the Voyager trains connect cities from Aberdeen in Scotland to Penzance in England. Adrian Hugill, Fleet and Engineering Director at CrossCountry, commented, "We’re delighted to be moving forward on the refurbishment of our Voyager fleet which will transform the passenger experience for customers on our long-distance routes."

This refurbishment project follows Alstom’s eight-year extension to its Train Services Agreement (TSA) with CrossCountry, valued at approximately EUR 950 million. This agreement ensures that Alstom will continue to maintain, overhaul, service, and clean CrossCountry’s Voyager and Super Voyager fleet until 2031 at their primary depot in Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire.

Having already served passengers across England, Scotland, and Wales for over two decades, Voyager and Super Voyager inter-city trains, also built by Alstom, have clocked up over 427 million miles of service. The ongoing investments in refurbishing these trains ensure that they will continue to provide a reliable and comfortable service for many more years.

Source: Alstom