CAF prepares for launch of Newhaven tram service

CAF has undertaken significant activities in preparation for the start of revenue services on Edinburgh’s tramline extension to Newhaven.

The award-winning Edinburgh Trams network has been extended by three miles to connect Leith and Newhaven to the current end of the Edinburgh tram line at York Place with eight new stops.

CAF supplied the fleet of 27 Urbos 100 vehicles for the city’s first tram line, operating from 6am to midnight seven days a week, providing a high capacity, safe, comfortable, accessible and efficient service.

The operational availability requirement for the network extension is 24 trams, an increase from the original 14 required, and will see the annual kilometres operated per tram increase from 52,000 to 70,055 per year with the opening of the extension in June 2023

To enable the new requirement, CAF has recruited additional team members based at Edinburgh Tram Depot in Gogar which comprises stabling and servicing facilities for the fleet. Eight new Technicians and a materials controller have been employed and a Team Leader and Trainer promoted from within the workforce. Two engineering apprentices will also join the team in August.

Safety-critical training packages have been developed for all tram systems and delivered between September 2022 and January 2023. The modification team is continuing to undertake a systems renewals programme, including CCTV and Passenger Information System and replacing the Train Control Management System.

CAF has also installed its digital platform LeadMind across the entire fleet, enabling remote access to all vehicle signals, system status and alarms to ensure optimal operation and maintenance. This powerful combination of Data analytics and Engineering Expertise allows access to reliable data of each tram of the fleet in real time improving the decision making progress.

CAF introduced a new maintenance night shift from January this year to undertake all light preventative maintenance in preparation for the extended service and to support testing and commissioning, and driver training. The rigorous testing and commissioning and driver familiarisation commenced in mid-March, including running trams at walking pace, half and full speed and most recently to standard timetable every seven minutes. The main milestones for CAF on the availability requirements during the testing phase have been:

T2 – 95% Reliability (17+2 Trams): 25th, 26th and 29th of May
T3 – 99% Reliability (19+2 Trams): from 30th May to 2nd June
T3 – Enhanced Timetable Testing (23+2Trams): 05th June

Dave Lowe, Managing Director CAF Rail UK comments: “The opening of the Newhaven route is a major milestone for Edinburgh Trams and CAF has undertaken significant pre-launch activities in anticipation of the revenue service launch.

“CAF trams will continue to provide a safe and reliable service to connect communities with the city and support local businesses.”

Photo credit: CAF

Download article