Avanti West Coast has unveiled its new-look, refurbished Pendolino trains, which run along the main line between Manchester and London.
One of the major changes included in the upgrade is the removal of some first class carriages to make room for more standard class seating.
In more good news for commuters, every seat on the upgraded trains will now come with a power point – previously, only those on table seats could access charging points.
The first of 35 ‘as new’ trains is back in service after its makeover, which is part of a £117m upgrade programme.
Avanti West Coast is removing one First Class carriage from each of its Pendolinos, and upgrading the rest. Credit: Avanti
The Pendolinos are some of the most recognisable trains in the UK, thanks to their tilting systems and their electric power.
ADVERTISEMENT
They’ve now been given a facelift, which includes more comfortable seats, a revamped shop, and better on-board customer information.
One first class carriage in each of the Pendolinos will be converted to provide a total of 2,000 more standard class seats.
ADVERTISEMENT
Water points on board
Clearer customer information
The new shop
New features on Pendolinos. Credit: Avanti
Avanti West Coast has also added additional luggage space, power points at every seat, new carpets and new loos.
Passengers on board yesterday’s 5.05am service from Manchester Piccadilly to London were the first to travel on the upgraded trains.
Rail minister Wendy Morton said: “The iconic Pendolino is back and better than ever before. This refurbished version of the classic fleet is a fantastic example of our cutting-edge rail network and how our railways are leading the way in creating a cleaner, more environmentally friendly and modern transport system.”
ADVERTISEMENT
The toilets have all had an upgrade too. Credit: Avanti
Managing director of Avanti West Coast, Phil Whittingham, said: “This investment has been one of the key promises to our customers and they will see a dramatic transformation of our well-loved fleet.
“The refurbished Pendolinos look and feel like new trains with state of the art technology as well as brand new seats that promise best-in-class comfort.”
The remaining 55 trains are to receive the same treatment as part of the £117m programme with the second set due back in service early next month. Rail manufacturer Alstom is undertaking the work at their new depot in Widnes in the North West, helping to secure 100 skilled jobs.
Peter Broadley, managing director services at Alstom said: “We are delighted with the launch of the newly modernised Pendolino. Working closely with our partners at Avanti West Coast and Angel Trains, we have created something truly special for the customers travelling on the West Coast Mainline.
ADVERTISEMENT
“Our team at Widnes have created something amazing and we are incredibly proud of the final product. We hope it secures the future of the Pendolinos on the West Coast for many years to come.”
The upgrade programme will run until 2024 when the last of the 56 strong fleet is expected to leave Widnes.
Featured image: Avanti
Manchester
Olivia Dean proves she deserves all her flowers with a captivating performance for BRITs Week 26 for War Child
Clementine Hall
BRITs Week 26 for War Child continued in Manchester last night, with Olivia Dean taking over a beautiful candle-lit Albert Hall… and it was a night we won’t forget.
I don’t need to tell you how utterly brilliant Olivia Dean is.
It’s something I’ve known for years (humble brag), but luckily it seems the entire world has caught on over the past few months.
I’ve been lucky enough to see Olivia five times now, and from watching her joyfully shake here banana-shaped maraca on a small stage at Glastonbury in 2023, to swishing her olive green satin gown at one of the country’s best venues last night – her indisputable talent remains.
Images: The Manc
The Art of Loving, her sophomore album, came out in September last year and features global hits ‘Man I Need’ and ‘Nice to Each Other’.
The record is a perfect analysis of love in all forms. Her heartfelt yet humoured lyricism explores its constant ups and downs, but perhaps the most prominent theme of love throughout is self-love.
And this is so clear as we watch Olivia beam from ear to ear as she makes her way through a setlist that is a celebration of her entire discography.
Of course, we heard all the fan favourites from the new album including ‘Lady Lady’ and ‘So Easy (To Fall In Love)’, but we were also treated to some of her older songs like ‘Echo’ and ‘UFO’ that initially brought her into the limelight.
A highlight for me was Ladies Bathroom which saw the gigantic disco ball hanging above us kick into gear, which as you can imagine at the gorgeous Albert Hall was a real sight to behold.
The entire evening underlined why smaller, grassroots venues are so bloody brilliant and deserving of our support now more than ever.
Image: Supplied
No pushing, no overcrowding, we were all there to revel in Olivia’s greatness and we all knew how lucky we were.
This was no doubt a very special show, a complete one-off in aid of BRITs Week 2026 to raise money for War Child, which Olivia joyfully announced that we had raised £270,000 for that night.
It’s no surprise that Olivia Dean is one of the most exciting artists in the world right now, oozing class, charm and impeccable talent.
We’ll be watching with our fingers crossed as she attends the BRIT Awards on Saturday evening with an impressive (and very well deserved) five nominations.
If you’re lucky enough to have tickets to her upcoming tour then just know how much fun you’ll have, but you’ll never have as much fun as Olivia does on that stage.
You can find out more about the remaining War Child performances here.
Featured image – The Manc Group
Manchester
A new ’boutique’ chicken spot has opened in Manchester’s Northern Quarter
Danny Jones
A brand-new chicken spot called ‘Le Coq Boutique’ has just opened in Manchester city centre, serving out of a popular Northern Quarter bar.
Is this the best name we’ve ever heard in our time writing about food and drink? It just might be…
Opening from inside The Social NQ on Thomas Street (formerly known as Smithfield Social), their new resident and poultry-centric kitchen is a bit of a pun on the classic French sportswear label, but having now been versed in the word about the bird for ourselves, we can confirm it’s much more than that.
For starters, the only thing more decadent than the roasted meats are the sides and cocktail menu, which features everything from chunky hash browns and some of the richest sauces you could ask for.
As you can see, the most chicken is well and truly the star of the show here, but what they have done is find unique ways of innovating and experimenting with it.
For instance, if you’ve never had a cocktail with chicken fat in it, here’s a place you can try one.
Honestly, this isn’t our first rodeo with this very particular kind of drink – but for those of you that haven’t, we promise, it really is quite good.
Aside from surprisingly saline kicks beside the salty marg rims we’ve become more accustomed to over the years, there are some very nice drinks on the menu.
But we’ll be honest, if you’re a sucker for the famous ‘chicken wine’ – a.k.a. La Vieille Ferme, if you want to be all formal – we imagine you’ll be sticking to plenty of this.
Having already spent many a weekend, be that afternoon or night, at the old Smithfield over the years, now that it has this fine new in-house food offering tacked on, we suspect we’ll be going back a lot more.
Whether you want lots of crispy chicken skin or prefer it smothered in gravy and various other kinds of savoury jus, if you’re an unadulterated mothercluckin’ chicken lover, then you’ll have a great time here.
As the team has joked in the comments under their first few social media posts, while it isn’t technically mandatory to wear the vintage 80s brand upon visiting, it is “expected”, with “bonus marks and shots” and promised for your efforts.
It’s also worth noting that they have an exclusive launch offer for those who sort a booking early, so we wouldn’t wait around if we were you.
Let us know what you think if you visit anytime soon.
Daisy Jackson -
26th April 2022 
