Staff working for Etihad Rail will benefit from international best practice in health and safety, in part thanks to innovative depot protection technology from FirstClass Safety & Control.
The UK-based rail safety specialist has been commissioned to design, manufacture and install their flagship Depot Protection System (DPS) at the Operations and Maintenance facility in Al Faya, Abu Dhabi.
FirstClass Safety & Control is working with 2F1JV, a joint venture company consisting of Vinci Construction France and Archirodon Construction (Overseas Company Ltd). The Al Faya facility will be the largest and most significant facility on the UAE’s National Rail Network. It will be responsible for warehousing, installations, operations, and the maintenance of locomotives and wagons. The facility will also include an administrative building to control the operations of the whole network.
The contract programme sees design and manufacture taking place during 2021 with on- site installation due to commence in Spring 2022.
FirstClass Safety & Control director, Mark Meyrick, said: “We are delighted to bring our extensive knowledge and experience in designing safety systems for rail depots to the Middle East market. Our technology gives depots complete confidence that people and equipment are always protected from danger, whilst improving efficiency.
“The DPS for Al Faya will be designed to meet the extreme climatic conditions experienced in Abu Dhabi without compromising the SIL2 level of safety that comes as standard with a FirstClass Safety & Control system.”
Continuing, Meyrick said: “This contract award comes about following an intensive 12-month period providing design support to GESTE Engineering, based in Switzerland, who undertook the high-level depot design work on behalf of 2F1JV. This work also included face-to-face meetings in Dubai during the Middle East Rail Conference in 2020.
“This level of commitment demonstrates our ethos of working in partnership with our clients and working flexibly to design a system that the client wants, rather than looking to sell them a “standard” system with some tweaks.”
For more information about FirstClass Safety & Control’s involvement in the Etihad Rail project or its depot safety systems, telephone Mark or any member of the team on +44 (0) 1621 743743 or visit www.firstclass-safety-control.co.uk
Photo credit: FirstClass Safety & Control
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