East Midlands Refurbishment
Coral Duo FR & Tessera Helix FR
TRANSPRESS
Forbo Flooring Systems have supplied textile entrance flooring systems and saloon carpets for many of the East Midlands Railway refurbishment projects over the last few years. The industrial design of the new Aurora trains was carried out by dgdesign, with the design theme continuing across refurbishment designs for EMR’s legacy fleets; Classes 158, 170 and 360. Andy Sykes supported this work at dgdesign and subsequently at Andy Sykes Design. Design activity spanned initial design audits to establish refurbishment scope, to developing seating designs, interior colours and finishes, visualising the refurbishments and even the signage for a consistent design approach.
A range of interior layouts were explored, seeking to add flexibility and functionality to the fleets, and better align these older units with the service requirements of today and tomorrow.
Andy recommended design decisions to deliver the EMR brand experience and translate the biggest impacts of the EMR Aurora design with specific project constraints, such as refurbished seating.
In all of these refurbishment projects Forbo’s floor coverings were specified for both the vestibule and saloons areas: Coral Duo FR (9721FR - dark steel) entrance floor coverings and Tessera Helix FR carpets.
Andy Sykes explained that: “The original design theme for the new EMR interiors was to create a refined and calm space, more aligned to contemporary hospitality spaces than the bold and busy patterns often seen in rail. The interior design was first developed for the new Aurora trains – the flagship of the EMR fleet – then adapted to refurbish the legacy fleet classes 158, 170 and 360, to deliver a consistent customer experience. In each case, the same floor covering could be specified to achieve consistency across the whole fleet.
We wanted to create a consistent EMR customer experience; one where the customer encounters the same surroundings whether they travel on a brand-new Aurora or a Class 158 that’s approaching 35 years old. Of course, there are differences in project scope between new-build and refurbishments, but by specifying the same floor covering throughout the fleets, the first step the customer makes on an EMR train is consistent.
In the vestibules, Coral Duo FR provided a proven barrier to capture dirt from entering the saloon areas, without feeling utilitarian. In the saloons, the colour scheme moves from dark to light, creating a spacious look that’s both smart and easy to keep clean.
Working with Forbo we developed a bespoke colourway for the proven Tessera Helix FR product, which EMR had a good working experience with on other fleets. The pattern is designed to reveal detail and interest on close inspection, while minimising the appearance of any stains which build up between cleanings. The looped pile of Tessera Helix FR aligned with the contemporary feel we wanted to achieve in the passenger areas.
The new Aurora trains feature a First-Class area, where Forbo’s Coral Move Vision FR product allowed design flexibility and the delivery of a lightweight product as required by the Hitachi team.
Forbo produced design samples quickly and responded to changes in a supportive manner. We were able to specify colours to successfully coordinate floor coverings, seat textiles and painted surfaces within the EMR interiors”.
Photo credit: Andy Sykes