East Midlands Railway, which operates EMR Connect services and the Luton Airport Express out of London St Pancras International to Luton Airport Parkway, Bedford, Wellingborough and Kettering have released images showing what a refurbished class 360 Electric Multiple Unit will look like after a £27.6 million pound upgrade.
The 3D Computer-Generated Images give a provisional look of what passengers can expect after the work has been undertaken across all 21 members of the class 360/1 fleet. Improvements will include:
- Better luggage space to accommodate larger cases
- 2+2 seating layout with some 2+2 facing seats around tables with charging points
- Airline style bay seating
- Wheelchair accessible toilets and seating area
All of which will improve the customer experience when travelling to the airport or on commuting and local leisure trips into and out of the capital.
EMR Connect features the EMR Luton Airport Express service, offering a fast, convenient, and eco-friendly option for travelling to London Luton Airport (LLA).
Travelling from London St Pancras to the terminal at London Luton Airport can take as little as 32 minutes and start at a cost of only £10 via the Luton Airport Express and Luton DART.
Trains depart every 30 minutes, running from early morning until late evening, Monday to Saturday, with frequent services on Sundays.
“We’re excited to share these first conceptual images of the upgrades. The £27.6 million refurbishment of our Class 360 train will be transformative – offering customers more convenience, comfort, and better facilities.
“We are proud to contribute to a sustainable travel option that not only offers a quick and frequent service but also significantly enhances the overall travel experience. We are sure the improvement in luggage space will particularly benefit customers travelling to and from London Luton Airport.”
Simon Pready, Commercial Director for East Midlands Railway
“Luton Airport Express has been transformational for London Luton Airport, providing rail passengers with a fast, frequent, and convenient service that takes around 30 minutes from central London to our terminal doors.
“The investment in this refurbishment of the fleet will provide Luton Airport Express passengers with an enhanced travel experience thanks to increased comfort, upgraded facilities, and modernised technology, all of which will bolster the appeal of a service that is already making its mark as a hugely popular sustainable travel option for the airport.”
Alberto Martin, CEO of London Luton Airport
“We are delighted to be upgrading the Class 360s to deliver enhancements both to the passenger environments and technology to transform the passenger journey.
“Our Siemens Mobility teams at our Northampton and Bedford facilities are excited about this investment in the fleet and are busy mobilising for this project. My thanks go out to the depot team’s dedication for their daily hard work in keeping these trains maintained, keeping passenger journeys comfortable and reliable.”
Sambit Banerjee, Siemens Mobility Joint CEO UK & Ireland
Responses
Why would anyone from Luton Airport even dream of taking this service if they require a destination such as Paddington or South of the River . The Thameslink service offers much better connectivity and more through journey opportunities … St Pancras highlevel station is a dead end .. And for anyone from Luton Airport wishing to head north ….i.e. Leicester this service offers the opportunity of having to cart your luggage over the foot bridge at Kettering . What is needed at Luton are direct services to Leicester and the north . … Who wants to go to Corby !!
Paddington is on the Circle line of the Underground. As is St Pancras.
Prior to the introduction of these 2nd hand class 360 units stations like Wellingborough enjoyed trains with a 1st class carriage .. EMR downgraded the service by declassifying the 1st class section of these 2nd hand trains . So now as part of the refurbishment the 1st class needs to be reinstated … .. no more excuses EMR ..
I think that the Class 360/1 do deserve a massive upgrade including new seat covers, interiors, painted hand rails, doors and a new fresh carpet that would match the EMR purple colours. Since they were cascaded from Greater Anglia.