Extra seats and new facilities have been put in place on trains between Norfolk and London thanks a £12m refurbishment.

The scheme, by Abellio Greater Anglia, was completed sooner than expected and has been hailed by railway campaigners.

As a result there are now 600,000 more standard seats per year available on the company's intercity trains between Norwich, Ipswich, Colchester, and London - after seven catering carriages were fitted with 54 standard seats instead of 24 first class seats.

Extra seats have also been added in some standard carriages.

The refurbishment also included installing new tables, LED lights, plug points, and carpets in all the intercity trains.

A separate programme to fit controlled emission toilets on the carriages is on course to be completed in October - and has already prevented more than two million flushes being spilt onto tracks, according to the company.

Mark Pendlington, co chairman of the Great Eastern Main Line Taskforce and chairman of the New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership, said: 'Passengers will notice a sustained improvement to their rail services, which was a promise at the heart of our campaign for transformational change.'

Taskforce chairman Chloe Smith added: 'This refresh of the existing carriages is an important benefit for passengers.'

Andy Camp, Abellio Greater Anglia's commercial director, said: 'We are pleased to have delivered this major upgrade programme.'

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