Voyager Fleet Refurbishment Programme in Britain

A £60 million refurbishment programme is being implemented to upgrade the Voyager fleet operated by CrossCountry and owned by Beacon Rail. The project combines fleet engineering, interior redesign and system upgrades to extend asset life and align the trains with current operational and passenger requirements.

Context of the Cooperation
The Voyager fleet (Class 220 and Class 221) has been in service since 2000 and operates long-distance routes from Aberdeen to Penzance. The trains are maintained and overhauled by Alstom at its Central Rivers Depot in Staffordshire. The refurbishment is carried out at Alstom’s Litchurch Lane Works in Derby, involving approximately 130 staff.

The cooperation reflects a typical UK rolling stock model: Beacon Rail, as asset owner, finances the investment (£75.1 million total), CrossCountry specifies operational and passenger requirements, and Alstom delivers engineering, integration and testing. The scale—136 Class 220 and 176 Class 221 cars over two years—requires coordinated fleet availability planning to avoid disruption across more than 100 served stations.

Technical Scope and Responsibilities
The programme focuses on mid-life modernisation rather than structural redesign. Key technical measures include:

The integration of LED lighting reduces energy consumption compared to legacy fluorescent systems and lowers lifecycle costs through longer service intervals. Automatic passenger counters provide data for capacity management and timetable optimisation, supporting data-driven rail operations within broader digital infrastructure strategies.

Alstom is responsible for engineering validation, system integration, testing and certification before the trains re-enter service. CrossCountry defines interior layout and service specifications, while Beacon Rail oversees asset lifecycle value and financing.

Deployment and Fleet Integration
The refurbishment is phased over two years. Each trainset is withdrawn, modernised in Derby and returned to service after testing. The process includes compatibility checks with existing depot maintenance systems at Central Rivers.

Twelve additional trains released from another operator are being incorporated into the CrossCountry fleet, requiring harmonisation of interior specifications and onboard systems.

Operational Impact
The Voyager fleet has accumulated high mileage—one unit exceeding 5.8 million miles—making structured refurbishment essential to maintain reliability and regulatory compliance. The programme is designed to:

In 2025, CrossCountry reported 39.6 million journeys. Maintaining fleet availability and performance is therefore critical to network stability. The cooperation between asset owner, operator and maintenance provider distributes financial, operational and technical responsibilities in a structured framework typical of UK rail fleet management.

www.alstom.com