C2C 357 refresh and LTS line upgrade?

[90sWereBetter]

Wondering if C2C have any plans to refurbish their 357 fleet in the coming years, as incredibly this set of trains are closing in on their quarter-century in service. The 357 still look good externally, but the seat design and moquette look a bit dated, and some of the bogs have certainly seen better days!

This bit probably could be palmed off to Infrastructure and Stations, I wonder if the LTS lines will ever be upgraded for 100mph operation like the GEML I imagine it's unlikely given the largely self-contained nature of the C2C network and the fact the 357s work perfectly fine being understressed at 75mph.

 

[Wivenswold]

There have been murmurs about increases to line speed since I worked there but the line would almost certainly need new signalling and the removal of a number of uncontrolled crossings. The possible savings to journey times would be minimal given that most services are stoppers. So I don't think it'll happen and certainly not while the 357s are around.

The 357s probably just need a good refresh, which could involve new seat covers, new floors, maybe USB plugs and new toilet furniture but given their age I don't imagine they'll have any serious work done to them unless inflation makes the cost of hiring new trains prohibitive. I think that in 10 years C2C will end up like the sister line to Southend, all-Aventra.

 

[357]

I can think of maybe 2 or 3 places where 100mph running would even be possible with the current fleet, and one of them has four foot crossings, and not all of them were chosen for closure in the recent announcement.

 

[387star]

The early series have the green interiors clashing with the pink seats

 

[jimfrst]

The 357s are due to be refurbished once the 720s finally enter service.

 

[Nicholas Lewis]

The 357s are due to be refurbished once the 720s finally enter service.

not anytime soon then given the 720s since delivery seem to be stored