02.05.17
Great Northern unveils refurbished carriages for Fen Line
Great Northern passengers are set for an improved rail experience after it was today announced that new carriages with air-conditioning and wi-fi will be rolled out across services on the King’s Lynn – Cambridge Fen Line route.
On top of that, the operator, a part of Govia Thameslink Railway, will also add more trains onto its services when it begins to implement its new timetable on 21 May. This is the same day that Network Rail will open a new station at Cambridge North to serve the Cambridge Business Park.
The new carriages will replace 22-year-old trains and is part of a plan to replace three-quarters of the Great Northern fleet by 2020. Those that remain will go through a £30m refurbishment.
The trains at Cambridge North will be a mixture of the modern air-conditioned Class 387 carriages which have been running to and from Cambridge since last autumn, as well as the existing Class 365 trains.

Great Northern’s passenger services director, Stuart Cheshire, said: “As we head into summer, these modern air-conditioned trains will keep passengers as cool as a cucumber.
“We think passengers will love the wi-fi that we’ll be adding in the coming months and the on-board information systems and power points at every pair of seats.”
Cheshire also stated that Network Rail is working to upgrade power supplies and lengthen platforms by the end of next year at Watlington, Littleport and Waterbeach, which will allow Great Northern to double the length of these trains to eight carriages in order to increase capacity.
“Crucially, although most of the four-carriage King’s Lynn trains cannot stop at Cambridge North until platforms are lengthened at Watlington, Littleport and Waterbeach, these one dozen extra King’s Cross trains at Ely should ease crowding on the King's Lynn services which will be a real boon for our passengers,” he concluded.
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