Virgin Trains is to refurbish the interiors of its entire east coast fleet ahead of the introduction of IEP from 2018.
The £21 million programme, which covers Virgin Trains East Coast fleet of 45 trains, will be delivered from Bounds Green depot in London and Craigentinny depot in Edinburgh.
The refurbishment will see seating replaced, new carpets and soft furnishings, and improvements to toilets.
Virgin will present the first renewed train on December 14 to coincide with the launch of its new service between Sunderland and London.
David Horne, managing director of Virgin Trains on the east coast route, said: “Since Virgin started running this railway, the bar has been raised by customers who rightly demand a high quality customer experience, something which they would expect from a Virgin business, as well as getting great value for money.
“And that’s exactly what we’ve been working hard to deliver, with this multi million investment in our trains not only one of the biggest investments of its kind ever seen on the east coast route, but also three years ahead of the introduction of new Super Express Trains as part of the Government’s InterCity Express programme.
“We’re investing now so our customers can benefit from new seats and a great new on-board environment before we get a new fleet of 65 trains from 2018.”