A NEW time-lapse video has been released showing how Transport for Wales Rail Services is transforming the appearance of trains in its current fleet using a pioneering process focused on sustainability.
The sustainable wraps have already started covering trains after Transport for Wales Rail Services partnered with science-based technology firms 3M and Aura Graphics.
The fully bilingual wraps are digitally printed in Transport for Wales’ silver and red colours with additional anti-graffiti laminate and are already generating excitement with rail passengers.
Having taken over the Wales and Borders rail service in October, Transport for Wales Rail Services is embarking on an exciting 15-year journey which will see £5 billion invested to improve services. This will include £800m in new rolling stock, 50% will be assembled in Wales.
One of the first steps is a £40 million investment in the current fleet of trains inherited on 14th October 2018.
It will take 12 months to wrap the entire fleet of 127 trains, to ensure there is no disruption to customers. The work will also include a refurbishment of the train interiors. The current fleet of trains will be used until new trains are introduced in 2023. Transport for Wales is investing £800m in new rolling stock and the interiors and exteriors of these new trains will be branded with Transport for Wales’ full livery.
Colin Lea, Customer Experience Director for Transport for Wales, said:
“We’re delighted with how the trains are looking and we’ve already had dozens of customers telling us how smart they are looking.
“We thought customers might really like to see behind the scenes of how you transform a fleet of trains.
“While we will be introducing new trains in the coming years, we recognise how important it is to give customers the best experience as soon possible, which is why we are investing £40 million in the current fleet, transforming them inside and out.
“Improving the appearance of the trains is one of a number of improvements customers will soon notice as a result of this investment. It will also fund customer experience and accessibility improvements and additional services.
“Sustainability is a guiding principle for Transport for Wales, so we took the opportunity to choose a film with such impressive credentials to update the graphics of our fleet and reduce our carbon footprint.”
[aoa id=”1″]
[/aoa]
The work is being carried out in the Alstom train depot in Chester without having to have the trains moved to a special facility.[/aoa]
The project involved stripping existing signage, full preparation of the underlying surfaces, corrosion treatment, and repainting, before applying digitally-printed Envision Print Wrap LX480mC from 3M, and finally dual-language labelling to the cars’ exterior.
The work was coordinated with the normal maintenance procedures for the trains, organised as continuous day and night-time shifts over a single weekend for each train set, to ensure zero disruption of passenger services.
