East Midlands Railway train refurbishment has reached 25 of 91 trains in the £60 million programme, with 10 Class 158s, 12 Class 170s and three Class 360s completed.

Refurbished Class 360 interior with grey and purple seats, tables and a passenger information screen
The refurbished Class 360 interior has 2+2 seating, tables and a passenger information screen. Photo: Ash Stanley / A S Studios / East Midlands Railway.

The figures come from a progress update the operator, known as EMR, issued on 17 September. EMR, which is run by Transport UK, says more units are now in the works. It has not given a finish date for the programme as a whole. That leaves 66 trains still to go through it.

Class 158 and Class 170 progress against earlier timetables

EMR showed its first refurbished Class 158 in July 2025. At the time, it said work on the 26-strong fleet was due to finish by June 2026. Ten of the 26 are now complete, and the September update does not set a new date for the rest.

The first refurbished Class 170 entered service in April 2025. The operator then said that a second train would follow the next month, then one a month after that. Seventeen months later, 12 of the 44 trains are done. Railway Supply covered the first Class 170 when it was launched.

Refurbished Class 170 carriage with grey and purple seating arranged around tables
A refurbished EMR Class 170 carriage with upgraded seating and tables. Photo: Mark Averill / AV IT MEDIA / East Midlands Railway.

What the refurbished Class 360s bring to EMR Connect

The three completed Class 360s are the first of the 21 four-car electric trains that EMR uses on its Connect route. They run every half hour between Corby and London St Pancras International, stopping at Kettering, Wellingborough, Bedford, Luton and Luton Airport Parkway. The same trains also work Luton Airport Express services.

Each unit now has 2+2 seats from end to end, arranged partly in airline-style rows and partly around tables. Passengers also get more room for luggage, power and USB charging, a better passenger information system and improved accessibility. EMR unveiled the first rebuilt unit in June 2026 as part of a £30 million budget for the Connect fleet.

EMR Connect opened in 2021 as the operator’s first all-electric route. The operator puts the resulting cut in carbon emissions at 77 per cent compared with the diesel trains used before.

Class 170 and Class 158 upgrades

The £23 million Class 170 overhaul covers all 44 trains. They get redesigned interiors with seats and tables that are either new or rebuilt, refurbished toilets, plug sockets and USB points, new floors, dedicated bike spaces and newly fitted passenger information screens. The trains came to EMR from several other operators, and the work gives them one common interior across the fleet.

Refurbished Class 158 seats arranged around a table beside a carriage window
Refurbished Class 158 seating arranged around a table inside an EMR Regional carriage. Photo: Mark Averill / AV IT MEDIA / East Midlands Railway.

The Class 158s mainly work the Liverpool to Norwich route via Manchester, Sheffield and Nottingham. They are receiving a smaller £5 million refresh aimed at keeping them in service for longer. It covers new seat foams and covers, tabletops, carpets and vestibule floors, upgraded CCTV and information systems, new branding and a repaint.

When the first refurbished Class 158 entered service, EMR managing director Will Rogers explained the decision to spend money on the ageing units:

“Although these trains are getting closer to the end of their service life, investing in them was absolutely the right decision.”

Who owns the trains, where the work is done and where they run (EMR documents, March 2024 – September 2026)
Class Trains in programme Owners Where the work is done Main routes
Class 360 (electric) 21 four-car units Angel Trains Siemens sites in Northampton and Bedford Corby – London St Pancras International (EMR Connect); Luton Airport Express
Class 170 (diesel) 44 units Porterbrook, Eversholt Not named in EMR announcements Seven regional routes, among them Nottingham – Skegness, Peterborough – Doncaster and Newark Castle – Crewe; often used on Liverpool – Norwich
Class 158 (diesel) 26 two-car units Angel Trains, Porterbrook Arriva TrainCare, Bristol (Angel Trains units); EMR Eastcroft depot, Nottingham (Porterbrook units) Mainly Liverpool – Norwich via Manchester, Sheffield and Nottingham

The work is split between three owners and at least three sites, and each class serves a different part of the EMR network. Sources: EMR announcements of March 2024, April 2025, July 2025 and June 2026; EMR fleet pages for Connect and Regional trains.

How the £60 million programme was set up

EMR launched the programme in March 2024 with Siemens and the leasing companies Angel Trains, Porterbrook and Eversholt, which own the trains. It said all of the work would be done in the UK. Together with the new Aurora intercity fleet, the aim is for every EMR train to be either new or refurbished. The three budgets EMR has published so far, £30 million for the Class 360s, £23 million for the Class 170s and £5 million for the Class 158s, add up to roughly £58 million of the £60 million total. The Class 158 figure is rounded: EMR put it at £5.2 million in July 2025.