Greater Anglia invests in keeping its new trains clean

Greater Anglia, which is commissioning three new fleets of trains (Classes 720, 745 and 755) has taken steps to keep them in tip-top condition by installing a new carriage washer machine at its Crown Point depot in Norwich.

The new £1.2 million carriage washer in July and it has now been completed, two months ahead of schedule. It now takes a less than a minute for a three or four carriage train to pass through the wash.

In addition, new train washers are being installed at Southend Victoria and Crown Point Depot in Norwich, while the washers at Clacton, Colchester, Ilford depot and Orient Way in London will be refurbished, as part of a £4 million project to improve train cleaning, as the company introduces new trains.

The new train washers are more efficient and effective, saving water, energy and time.

Martin Moran, Greater Anglia’s commercial, customer services and train presentation director, said: “We are very pleased to have a new train washer at Crown Point. The old one was almost 40 years old.

“The new washers will improve the quality and standard of train washing, as well as helping to save up to 10% of the volume of water needed, compared to what was previously used.

“Our new trains look great and we want to keep them looking this way for years to come, which is why we are heavily investing in cleaning. We are currently in the process of replacing every single train in our fleet to make our customers’ journeys easier and more comfortable.

“I would like to thank everyone who was involved in this project.”

Craig Prangley, Taylor Woodrow’s Operations Director, said: “We are proud to have delivered the train washer safely and ahead of schedule.

“The work was delivered through a combination of self-delivery from the Taylor Woodrow team and work from our specialist subcontractors.

“Successful completion in such close proximity to the main line is testament to the collaboration of everyone involved in bringing this great new facility into use.”

A hand washing regime was put in place to maintain high standards while the new machine was installed.