Siemens Mobility’s UK Bogie Service Centre in Lincoln has marked a significant milestone with the completion of its 500th bogie overhaul for the Siemens UK fleet of trains. The 500th bogie serviced is from the Siemens Mobility fleet of Velaro Eurostar e320 high speed trains.
Sambit Banerjee, Managing Director, Siemens Mobility Limited, said: “The completion of the 500th bogie overhaul is a real milestone and achievement and a reflection of the hard work by our team of highly skilled rail technicians.
“The changes and upgrades we’ve introduced make the facility even more efficient. Ultimately this is all about increasing value sustainably over the train’s lifecycle and providing customers with a reduced cost combined with the very best service.”
The £8m centre, which opened in November 2018, focuses on servicing bogies and wheel sets for the latest Siemens Mobility trains operating in the UK, including the Velaro Eurostar e320 high speed trains and Desiro Classic trains.
The facility, which has seen a 55 per cent increase in staff numbers since it opened, has a team of 62 employees – including 44 skilled technicians – performing premium train maintenance in short turnaround times, guaranteeing customers a high-quality service by reducing the period trains are out of service for overhauls.
Siemens Mobility has made significant investments in the facility over the last year, including installing new Mechan bogie lift stands, making the overhaul process safer and more efficient. Improvements to maintenance procedures have increased throughput of bogies, with 2020 seeing the Bogie Service Centre more than double the output of the previous year.
A new condition assessment area has also been created, enabling technicians to conduct a full strip down, clean and service of the bogie and assess its components in a controlled setting. This helps improve understanding of the mileage extensions that need to be applied to each bogie, reducing costs and increasing value for the customer.
Siemens Mobility’s investment in the centre marked a key milestone in the company’s growing UK rail footprint, which continues to expand with the construction of a new £200m train manufacturing plant in nearby Goole, East Riding of Yorkshire. The facility, which is due to open in 2023, will manufacture and commission new generation trains and is set to create 700 skilled jobs.
The Bogie Service Centre complements Siemens Mobility’s well-established installed base of over 550 trains and network of purpose-built maintenance facilities in the UK, plus wider activities in electrification, signalling and train control technologies.
Photo credit: Siemens Mobility
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