Eurostar appoints Pininfarina for Fleet Refurbishment

Eurostar, the high-speed rail passenger service that links Britain and mainland Europe, has awarded the design contract for the interior refurbishment of its fleet to the Italian design consultancy Pininfarina.

Pininfarina is a world-class design house that is best known for its work in the car industry, with prestige marques such as Ferrari and Maserati as well as volume manufacturers including Peugeot, Alfa Romeo, Ford and Volvo. It is also developing the revolutionary, electric Pininfarina BlueCar that is due to go into production in 2011, and which promises to help cut carbon dioxide emissions from road travel.

Importantly for Eurostar, Pininfarina also has extensive experience in the rail industry, having designed the interiors and exteriors of Italy’s high-speed trains; rolling stock for Swiss, Danish and Norwegian Railways; automated light rail cars in Lille, northern France; and trams for cities in Italy, Greece, Sweden and Turkey.

Pininfarina will be responsible for the full interior design including styling and engineering, and the exterior livery. The 28 trains in the Eurostar fleet will be fitted out by SNCF, and the first ones are due in service in 2012.

Nicolas Petrovic, chief operating officer, Eurostar, said, “We want to offer our travellers the highest standards in comfort, style and innovation, and I am confident that together we will deliver Eurostar trains that fully meet the 21st century expectations of our travellers.”

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