RAIL operator Northern – which runs services on the Airedale line – has launched its first fully-refurbished train.

The upgraded Class 158 made its debut between Leeds and Lincoln, ahead of its planned introduction across the network.

Northern is refurbishing more than 240 trains as part of a multi-million pound investment programme.

Improvements include new seating with extra leg room, USB charging sockets at every seat and free Wi-Fi.

In the near future, it is also planned to have onboard customer information screens and a digital seat reservation scheme.

Northern, which earlier this year came under fire after timetable changes led to chaos, says a raft of measures is being introduced too to improve over 400 stations – including new seating and waiting rooms, and better lighting and CCTV.

Work is already complete at more than 100 stations.

Ben Ackroyd, engineering director at Northern, welcomes the launch of the first refurbished train.

And he pays tribute to all the partner organisations involved in the project.

The train was renovated at Arriva Train Care in Crewe. It involved hundreds of hours of work from specialists in rail, engineering, electrics, lighting and audio-visual.

Mr Ackroyd said: “We have promised our customers fully-refurbished trains with modern facilities and I am really proud to see this first unit out on the network.

“We are committed to delivering further improvements for our customers in the north of England and this train – which will operate across the region – is tangible proof that our improvements are on track.

“I am grateful to our partners across the industry who have worked hard to deliver this first-in-class train and I look forward to seeing more and more refurbished carriages out and about on the network during the coming weeks and months.”