The UK's railway infrastructure is at the heart of today's news. .. Future HS2 proposals are a magnet for both positive and negative comments... both sides of the argument sound very feasible....
Present difficulties relate to "What to do about Dawlish, long term?", and building resilience into the national network after such a difficult winter.
As to railway franchises....another extension for Northern Rail...with a sizable government subsidy thrown in.... And Crossrail could well be extended to Reading....
Is there something to be learned from Renfe's fares policy... which is attracting larger ridership....?
Read on....
Final train in new fleet delivered to First TransPennine Express(Siemens)
Siemens Press Pictures.
A £60m investment in new rolling stock for the northwest of England and Scotland, was formally celebrated this week as the 10th new Siemens-built Class 350/4 train was handed over to First TransPennine Express (FTPE).
£60m investment in new rolling stock for the northwest of England and Scotland, was formally celebrated this week as the 10th new Siemens-built Class 350/4 train was handed over to First TransPennine Express (FTPE).
Unit 350 410’s on-time delivery, the final unit in a new 10-strong fleet of Siemens electric trains, is a key element of a project to create additional capacity and new services for passengers, and take advantage of newly electrified routes. The timely fleet delivery is a result of a successful rail industry partnership between manufacturer Siemens Rail Systems, train operator FTPE, leasing company Angel Trains Ltd and infrastructure authority Network Rail.
The new four-carriage trains, which have been designed with 110mph capability, will increase capacity between Manchester in the northwest and Glasgow and Edinburgh in Scotland by 60%. They will also improve space for luggage by 25% and reduce the carbon footprint of the service by over one third.
In May, FTPE will launch a new timetable incorporating the full fleet of 10 new electric trains, which will bring a 30% capacity increase across the whole of FTPE’s north of England network and will fulfill 50% of the Government’s capacity targets for rail in the north of England.
The new timetable will include:
- 15 services a day in each direction between Glasgow and Edinburgh and Manchester Airport providing 50,000 seats a week
- Five trains an hour across the Pennines
- A new express service between Liverpool and Newcastle
- An additional 90,000 seats per week across the FTPE network.
Siemens Rail Systems will provide engineering and maintenance support for the new trains alongside its existing diesel Class 185 fleet at its newly electrified Ardwick depot in Manchester. Significant changes to the depot infrastructure, made within the last year, have seen it extended to accommodate both electric and diesel trains, with multi-skilled teams working on both technologies.
This investment in rolling stock has already led to the creation of 200 new jobs to date. It is expected improvements to rail connections as a result of the project will generate £10m per year in regional economic benefits.
Steve Scrimshaw, Managing Director of Siemens Rail Systems in the UK, said: “It is fantastic to be able to celebrate another on-time fleet delivery. Just over two years from initial contract signature to full fleet acceptance is a great achievement and is indicative of Siemens commitment to meeting customer needs in tight timescales. The new trains, which take the number of Siemens vehicles in the UK to 1558 carriages, will bring significant benefits to the northwest in the form of increased capacity, energy efficiency and economic benefits.
“We are delighted to have been involved in this collaborative partnership, building, testing and delivering new trains that will transform the travel experience for FTPE passengers. It is projects like this that highlight what can be achieved in a short timescale when our industry pulls together.”
Nick Donovan, Managing Director of First TransPennine Express, said: "We are absolutely delighted that our delivery of a £60m investment in new trains is delivering on time and customers will shortly feel the benefits of capacity increases across our network. Our brand new electric four carriage trains will serve the route between Manchester and Scotland allowing us to deploy the rest of our fleet to deliver significant capacity increases across our network.
"The 10 Class 350/4s have been designed with the customer in mind. They offer comfort and reliability and should further improve the travel experience between the north of England and Scotland. From May 2014 all ten new trains will be in service and we will be providing nearly 90,000 extra seats per week across the network.”
He continued: "I'd like to extend our thanks to train manufacturer Siemens, who have delivered the 40 new carriages on time and on budget, our leasing partner Angel Trains for their support throughout the contract and for Network Rail for delivering significant infrastructure improvements.”
Mark Hicks, Technical Director of Angel Trains Ltd, said: “It is a privilege to have worked on this multi-million pound project and to be able to see it come to fruition. The punctual delivery of the project shows what the rail industry can achieve when we work in partnership. We are pleased to add the new Siemens Class 350/4 fleet to the portfolio of trains we finance and lease and we look forward to working with Siemens Rail Systems, FTPE and Network Rail to bring further benefits to the northwest and Scotland.”
Dyan Crowther, Route Managing Director, Network Rail, said: “We are pleased that by delivering the first phase of North West Electrification between Manchester and Newton le Willows – the first major electrification scheme in England in over a decade – has allowed the introduction of new rolling stock on Anglo Scottish services possible. This was the first part of the ongoing £400 million programme to electrify lines in the North West by December 2016.”
(Siemens Press Release)
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