TRAINS running in north Essex have been given an upgrade.

Operator Greater Anglia, which runs the train service between London and north Essex, has upgraded 17 of its trains.

The trains, formerly operated by London Midland, were transferred to the Great Eastern line in 2010, when it was taken over by Greater Anglia.

The upgrades, which include new floor and seat covers, are now complete.

Daren Lording, manager at Clacton Depot, where the work was carried out, said: “I'm very proud of our team who have successfully delivered the improvement programme for these Class 321 trains on-time and on-budget.

“This is work that we have not undertaken on this type of scale before and it is to everyone's credit that the outcome has delivered a much improved environment for our customers."

John Ratcliffe, Greater Anglia Engineering Director, added: “I am very pleased this project has been delivered by the ‘in-house’ team at Clacton, and I should like to congratulate Daren and his colleagues for the quality they've been able to achieve for work more traditionally done at much bigger main workshops.”