Executives from Siemens, ScotRail and Transport Scotland were yesterday on site at ScotRail’s Shields traincare facility in Glasgow to mark the completion of the first major milestone in the £24 million depot construction project – the handover of a new wheel lathe building.
Siemens began to re-develop the existing depot, located between St Andrews Drive and the mainline railway line to the west of Glasgow city centre, earlier this year. The company is using energy efficient building and lighting materials and technologies during the construction process.
The new wheel lathe building, which has been completed on schedule in six months, contains the latest technical equipment to keep train wheels in tip top condition and reduce wear and tear on the rails. It has been designed to carry out the work whilst the wheels are still on the train using an underfloor or ‘ground’ wheel lathe. This reduces the need to lift the train and remove the wheels. It also offers the ability to ‘profile’ double the number of wheels at one time.
When complete, Shields depot will house and maintain the new fleet of 38 Siemens Desiro Class 380 electric trains as well as some of the existing ScotRail fleet. It will also undertake interior cleaning, toilet-emptying and re-fuelling.
The new trains will run primarily on Ayrshire, Inverclyde and Renfrewshire routes from September 2010, boosting Scotland's transport system by adding more than 9,000 passenger seats to the rail network.
At peak periods, the fleet will provide between 50 and 120 extra seats compared to existing services in Ayrshire and Inverclyde.
The Class 380s are at the cutting edge of rail technology and will deliver real benefits for passengers. They feature spacious seating, wide aisles, air-conditioning, power sockets for laptops under each table, luggage provision, space for cycles and wheelchairs, plus CCTV.
Clockwise from left: David Binne (Transport Scotland), Dean Philpott (Siemens), Ken Docherty (First ScotRail) and Mark Gordon (Clough Smith Rail)
Alasdair McNicoll, Projects Director at ScotRail, said: “The completion of the wheel lathe building marks a significant project milestone and takes us one step closer to providing rail passengers in Scotland with an even better service. The Class 380s are modern, spacious and efficient trains, and the redevelopment of Shields depot will ensure they are maintained to the highest standards.”
Eddie Inglis, Business Development Manager Scotland, Siemens Mobility, said: “The completion of the wheel lathe building marks the conclusion of the first phase of the project. Work continues apace and we are on schedule to complete the depot’s construction, as planned, in August 2010.”
Jerry Morrissey, Head of Rail Projects at Transport Scotland, said: “Now that construction of the expanded depot has reached this key milestone, we’re starting to see real tangible benefits from Scottish Ministers’ investment in these new depot facilities. The new trains that will enhance services in the west of Scotland by providing extra capacity on Ayrshire, Inverclyde and Renfrewshire routes, will rightly be maintained to the highest standard in these cutting edge facilities”
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Notes to Editors:
Siemens was established in the United Kingdom 166 years ago and now employs 18,402 people in the UK. Last year’s revenues were £3.7 billion. As a leading global engineering and technology services company, Siemens provides innovative solutions to help tackle the world’s major challenges, across the key sectors of energy, industry and healthcare. Siemens has offices and factories throughout the UK, with its headquarters in Frimley, Surrey. The company’s global headquarters is in Munich, Germany. For more information, visit www.siemens.co.uk
As part of Siemens in the UK, Siemens Mobility employs around 1800 people, providing expertise and technology in rolling stock, rail infrastructure, traffic solutions and infrastructure logistics to the UK transport industry.
In Rolling Stock, Siemens Mobility provides and maintains passenger trains for First TransPennine Express, South West Trains, Heathrow Express, National Express East Anglia, Northern Trains and London Midland. New trains are currently in production for First ScotRail.
With proven capability in rail automation, Siemens Mobility has recently delivered a major re-signalling project in the Portsmouth areas, traction power upgrades across the UK and new telecommunications systems in London and the west of England. It is also developing the GSM-R cab radio solution for the entire UK rolling stock fleet. For more information on Siemens Mobility please visit www.siemens.co.uk/mobility.
Class 380 Trains
The Scottish Government is investing more than £430m to bring these new trains into operational service in Scotland, including a programme of infrastructure and stabling enhancements as well as improvements in the Paisley Corridor. It is the biggest electric train order in Scotland for a decade and will create more than 130 new jobs.
Four carriage trains will have 282 seats, and three-carriage trains will have 208. The fleet is made up of 16 four-car, and 22 three-car trains.
Weight-saving features will make the fleet more efficient to operate. The Class 380 will monitor its own energy use, and will have electric braking that can return energy to the power system for re-use by other trains.
They will be the first trains in the UK to meet stringent accessibility standards – the Technical Specification for Interoperability for Persons with Reduced Mobility (PRM TSI). There will be two wheelchair spaces per train in an inclusive layout with full standard seats for companion travellers. Wheelchair-accessible toilets and open aisles and vestibules will also feature.
For more information, contact:
Laurie Waugh,
PR Manager,
Siemens plc
Tel: 01276 696310
Mobile: 07921 242074
Email: laurie.waugh@siemens.com
