British Rail Class 390 Pendolino Refurbishment (Avanti West Coast)
UK (West Coast Main Line) · 2021–2024 · £117m (2021 prices)
The judgement call
Account-gated at launch* Strategic investment to extend the life and enhance the passenger experience of a flagship high-speed fleet. * Conversion of a first-class coach to standard class to increase capacity. * The refurbishment was part of the UK's biggest fleet upgrade.
Key engineering challenges
* Completing the refurbishment of a large fleet within a tight schedule (10 days per train). * Integrating new interior designs and technology while maintaining the structural integrity and tilting mechanism of the high-speed trains. * Addressing reliability issues (e.g., SUH Box reliability) to improve fleet availability.
Project facts
- Client / owner
- Avanti West Coast (leased from Angel Trains)
- Lead contractor
- Alstom
- Lead designers
- Alstom
- Project type
- Refurbishment
- Scale
- 56 trains (entire fleet); 10-day turnaround per train; conversion of one first-class coach to standard class.
- Disciplines
- Mechanical; Electrical; Systems; Interior Design
- Standards & frameworks
- RSSB; Network Rail standards
Sources: * Alstom Press Release (alstom.com) * Railway Technology (railway-technology.com) * Rail Business UK (railbusinessuk.com) * Modern Railways (modernrailways.com) * Rail Magazine (railmagazine.com) * British Rail Class 390 (Wikipedia) * Avanti West Coast newsdesk (newsdesk.avantiwestcoast.co.uk)