Passenger trains to get facelift

The refurbishment will include the interior of the trains

East Midlands Trains has announced a multi-million pound refurbishment of 25 trains over the next 20 months.

The trains from the company's Class 158 fleet will be completely overhauled by Derby-based company DeltaRail.

This will include repainting, improving the seating design and capacity, a new toilet area, CCTV on every train and better air conditioning units.

Work on the trains will start in August and each two-carriage train will take between four and six weeks to complete.

This refurbishment is part of £90m worth of investment including an upgrade to Derby's train maintenance depot.

More customer help points will be added to stations, waiting areas will be refurbished and lighting and facilities will be improved. There will also be a new station at East Midlands Parkway, near East Midlands Airport.

A new timetable will be introduced in December 2008 with faster journey times and increased capacity, the firm said.