Woke Art on the Rails: Avanti’s Diversity Trains Spark Debate Over Priorities

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A newly unveiled train design by Avanti West Coast has ignited a national debate, with some praising the celebration of diversity and others dismissing it as political woke posturing. The rail operator recently revealed its latest livery—a striking, colourful artwork painted across all seven carriages of one of its new Evero trains. The design, titled Together We Roll, aims to reflect the ethnic diversity of the company’s workforce and the communities it serves.

 

Digital artist Baraka Carberry, the creator of the artwork, described it as a celebration of “scenes of people, culture, colours and joy.” The design, which will begin service this summer, was born out of a suggestion from Avanti’s frontline staff based at London’s Euston station. Carberry, who also designed a Windrush-themed bus for Transport for London, called the project “a living, evolving artwork that has the potential to resonate with the public.”

 

 

 

Despite its positive intentions, the initiative has been met with political criticism. Gareth Bacon, the Conservative shadow transport secretary, labelled the move as “virtue-signalling nonsense.” He added, “Avanti West Coast can’t run a train on time, but they can find the time and money for virtue-signalling nonsense. While passengers are stranded on platforms waiting for services that never show up, Avanti are busy patting themselves on the back for colourful train paint jobs.

 

 

This nonsense won’t fix the delays, cancellations, and endless chaos that Labour have caused with their ‘no-strings’ pay giveaway to the unions. Passengers need functioning rail services and deserve better than this farce.”

 

 

Avanti, however, defended the move as an important cultural and community-building gesture. Kathryn O’Brien, Avanti’s customer experience director, said, “Nothing like this has been seen on the UK’s railways. We’re incredibly proud of this unique train and who it represents. By bringing to life the vibrant communities we serve and our employees, we hope to highlight the many people of different cultures, backgrounds and heritage who have a connection to the railway.

 

This vibrant train marks our latest step towards this by sparking conversations about ethnicity and bringing a sense of togetherness across the west coast and beyond.”

 

Government support also came from Lord Hendy, the rail minister, who viewed the initiative as a step in the right direction. “Diversity is key to the success of any industry, and creative work like this goes a long way in sparking conversations, encouraging inclusion and may inspire more people to choose a career in rail. We still have a long way to go until we have a railway which reflects the society we live in, but Together We Roll shows Avanti West Coast’s commitment to representing more of the communities they serve, and I look forward to seeing Baraka’s artwork out on the track.”

 

Avanti has declined to comment on the cost of the new livery, leaving some critics to question the balance between symbolic gestures and practical service delivery. Nonetheless, the train will soon roll out across the UK’s rail network, a moving canvas of cultural pride—whether seen as progress or provocation.

 

  Adpated by ASEAN Now from The Telegraph  2025-05-01

 

 

[Mike_Hunt]

This warms my heart.