A £30 million project to dramatically improve the reliability of electric trains on GNER's high-speed services has been completed successfully.

The final train cab was officially handed over to GNER bosses by chiefs at rolling stock company HSBC Rail in an official ceremony, in London, yesterday.

The York company has overhauled its entire fleet of 31 electric Class 91 locomotives, which haul trains between London King's Cross, Yorkshire and Scotland.

Each have undergone extensive mechanical and electrical re-engineering as part of a mid-life refurbishment and technology upgrade.

Introduced between 1989 and 1991, the locomotives are owned by HSBC Rail and leased to GNER.

A Class 91 locomotive will typically cover 1,100 miles a day and the whole fleet has accumulated nearly ten million miles of service.

The project, started in June 2000, involved a successful partnership approach adopted by HSBC Rail, GNER, and the original manufacturers of the locomotives, ALSTOM and Bombardier.

It has proved so effective that Class 91 locomotives are typically covering more than 25,000 miles between problems likely to cause delays, compared to less than 10,000 miles, prior to the upgrade.

The project has taken such a long time because only two locomotives could be released from traffic at any period, to allow GNER to maintain its full timetable of passenger services.

GNER chief executive Christopher Garnett said: "This has been a tremendous team effort which is already beginning to make a significant difference to the performance and punctuality of our services and the quality of journeys enjoyed by our passengers."

The refurbishment is expected to give the locomotives at least another 20 years of active service.

Peter Aldridge, head of HSBC Rail, said: "This project has been a major investment by HSBC Rail and this joint initiative has significantly improved Class 91 reliability.

"It is an excellent example of partnership at work and result of our collaborative approach is clearly evident.

"All the parties in this project have committed significant resources to delivering improved reliability and performance of these locomotives."

The heavy overhaul programme has also included fitting train protection and warning system (TPWS) equipment to all locomotives ahead of the national December 2003 deadline.

Updated: 09:53 Friday, April 18, 2003