Manchester, 2012-Feb-29
Ten class 350/3 electrical multiple units (EMUs) will be used by London Midland to strengthen existing commuter services into London and along the West Coast Mainline. First TransPennine Express will introduce a further ten class 350/4 EMUs onto services on the West Coast Main Line linking Manchester Airport to Edinburgh and Glasgow.
Steve Scrimshaw, managing director for Siemens Rail Systems in the UK, said:
“The Desiro UK fleet has delivered over nine years of reliable service to train operators and to the travelling public. The order is testimony to the excellent reputation for comfort, reliability and safety that our trains have developed and the effective maintenance delivered by our 650-strong service team, day in, day out.”
“We are also very proud that Siemens is the manufacturer and maintainer of currently the most reliable train in the UK - the Desiro class 350/2 operated by London Midland - which is the predecessor of the latest units ordered.* In fact, Siemens’ trains occupy seven of the top nine places in the current reliability tables published by the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC). We look forward to introducing the class 350/3 and 350/4 trains in due course.”
The class 350/3 and class 350/4 fleets are designed for a maximum speed of 110 miles per hour and for operation on a line voltage of 25 kV AC. The trains are also capable of feeding the energy created during braking back into the overhead line system and provide driver advisory information to optimise power draw, thereby saving power and reducing CO2 emissions. The delivery period ranges from the end of 2013 until summer 2014. The four-car electric trains will be maintained at the Siemens depots in Northampton and Ardwick, where Siemens currently employs around 250 people.
The trains will be built at Siemens’ rolling stock plant in Krefeld, Germany and tested at the company’s purpose built test track in Wildenrath, Germany. This unique facility fully replicates UK network conditions, which ensures that trains are fully tested in a Network Rail approved environment prior to their entry to the UK. This allows fault free mileage accumulation for each vehicle and avoids disruptions on the busy UK rail network.
When the last unit of the newly ordered fleet is delivered in the summer of 2014, it will bring the total number of Siemens mainline commuter trains operating in the UK to over 400. The trains are maintained at depots built and operated by Siemens in Acton, Northam, Manchester, York, Northampton and Glasgow, as well as in facilities shared with customers at Ilford, Neville Hill, Crewe and Strawberry Hill. Siemens is also currently building 10 high speed Velaro E320 trains, Eurostar, which will be introduced into service from 2014.
Siemens plc employs around 13,000 people in the UK.
* The class 350/2 fleet has a Moving Annual Average (MAA) of 68,963 miles per TIN (Technical INcident of three, or more, minutes) in period 11, 2011-12 (8 January 2012 to 4 February 2012), making it the most reliable UK fleet.
ENDS
Notes to editors:
About Siemens
Siemens was established in the United Kingdom 169 years ago and now employs 12,972 people in the UK. Last year’s revenues were £4.4 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, infrastructure & cities 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. * Data includes intercompany revenue. Data may not be comparable with revenue reported in annual or interim reports.
As part of the Siemens Infrastructure & Cities Sector, Siemens Rail Systems Division provides expertise and technology in the full range of rail vehicles – from heavy rail to metros to trams and light-rail vehicles.
In the UK, the Division employs around 650 people and currently maintains 384 Siemens passenger trains for: First TransPennine Express (51 x class 185), South West Trains (45 x class 444, 127 x class 450), Heathrow Express (5x class 360/2, 14 x class 332), Greater Anglia (21 x class 360), Northern Rail (16 x class 333, London Midland (30 class x 350/1, 37 x class 350/2) and ScotRail (38 x class 380).
For further press information, please contact:
Emma Whitaker
Senior PR & Government Affairs Manager
Siemens plc
+ 44 (0)7921 246942
emma.whitaker@siemens.com
