Thousands of train carriages on way

More than 7,000 new train carriages are being introduced to Britain’s railways, according to an industry body.

The upgrade will enable an extra 6,400 services to operate each week by 2021, the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) said.

Today’s train fleet is among the oldest since records began in 2001.

Latest Office of Rail and Road (ORR) figures show the average age of carriages is 21.1 years.

A number of new trains were introduced following the end of British Rail in the mid-1990s but the average age has risen during the past decade.

The ORR says older trains can result in worse reliability, less comfortable journeys and poorer performance than modern versions, although it notes that older rolling stock can be refurbished.

Travellers using the Caledonian Sleeper service have to put up with Britain’s oldest trains at 42 years old.

New sleeper trains are being introduced on the route between London and Scotland for the first time in more than 35 years, featuring a range of accommodation including compartments with double beds.

Pacer trains which date back to the 1980s and were constructed using parts from buses are still in use in the north of England.

They are being replaced by 281 new carriages featuring wi-fi, power sockets and digital information screens.

Other rail firms set to benefit from new rolling stock in the coming years include Greater Anglia, South Western Railway, Transpennine Express and Merseyrail.

By 2021 a total of 7,033 carriages are set to have been introduced since 2016.

RDG chief executive Paul Plummer said: “With thousands of new, state-ofthe-art carriages coming on track over the next three years, the partnership railway’s long-term plan is transforming journeys up and down the country.”