A big winner from train fleet modernisation since the turn of the Millennium has been Siemens Transportation Systems. After gaining a toehold in the UK a decade ago with its Class 332 Heathrow Express stock, Siemens won a series of orders, mostly for Desiro units.

A developing trend towards manufacturer servicing at purpose-built depots accelerated in mid-2006 when Siemens opened traincare centres in Northampton and Manchester for Silverlink/Central Trains and First TransPennine Express, mirroring its depot in Southampton for South West Trains, completed in 2003.

Siemens holds long-term maintenance contracts for Desiros supplied to Silverlink/Central, TransPennine and SWT and is committed to stringent maintenance standards. The contracts demand high availability, with rapid daily servicing and equally efficient heavy maintenance, such as bogie changes inside two hours.   

Sheffield-based heavy-lift specialist Mechan was selected to supply a 10-tonne scissor-type bogie drop for Southampton (Northam). Orders followed for Mechan drop systems at Manchester (Ardwick), where diesel Desiros may require underfloor engine removal, and Northampton (Kings Heath).

For these two locations Siemens specified Mechan’s ‘intelligent’ screw-jack bogie drops. This equipment requires half the depth of hydraulic drops, under 3 metres, giving substantial construction cost savings.

Accurate and manageable in operation with their high-tech control systems, these latest bogie drops bring further advantages. Design and operation of the pit floor are ingenious, with provision for forklifts and similar traffic to cross when the pit is not in use and creation of a safety barrier when it is. 

To achieve security and safety at its Heathrow Express and Desiro traincare centres, Siemens also turned to Mechan, equipping all five UK depots with Mechan’s SMART™ Depot Protection System. This flexible system uses datakeys programmed with user information to monitor and control all movements safely.  

Having supplied lifting equipment to heavy industry since 1969, Mechan says rail is now a major customer. It is working hard to develop yet more specialist equipment for the rail industry and sophisticated control systems for their safe and effective operation.

Train Maintenance:

The Future May be Closer than you Know

Visualise, if you will, a rolling stock maintenance depot of the future. As you enter the depot manager’s office you observe that one wall is dedicated to a ‘virtual depot’ – a live view of the entire facility. Each vehicle is identified in a location, while inbound or outbound vehicle movements are shown in real time, along with the status of the derailer and signals controlling each movement.

All staff working within the depot are logged onto specific tasks on identified vehicles. Viewing of each function area on the virtual depot shows individuals logged to that area, while viewing of a particular vehicle will report the vehicle’s in-depot movements and all work undertaken by the depot.

The ‘jacking road’ shows a 6-car set in an elevated status undergoing a campaign bogie change, the overhead line is shown isolated and interlocked with the SMART Depot Protection System’s laser-based vehicle location detector. The multi-purpose bogie drop road shows the ‘bridge’ locked in a safe condition and a 4-car unit entering the depot, under the control of the ‘designated person’, for an undercar module replacement.

Outside the main depot building a 4-car unit is currently passing through the wash plant and a 6-car unit is under the control of a ‘mule’ within the wheel lathe building. An amber warning indicator flashes on-screen. Examination of the warning informs that the derailer being raised to protect the bogie drop road has taken longer than expected and a non-scheduled, preventative maintenance inspection should be undertaken.

Forward-thinking
People unaware of the latest advances in depot equipment may see this capability as being many years away. However, this is actually present-day capability. Forward-thinking companies are already installing this level of leading-edge depot equipment. Newly-built facilities for Siemens Transportation Systems at Northampton and Manchester are leading the way by employing these high-tech advances from Mechan Technology.

“With all the focus on modern vehicle design and infrastructure upgrades, plus penalties for late-running trains, more emphasis has rightly been placed on the efficiency of the networks,” comments Richard Carr, Business Development Director at Mechan. “Part of my job is to ensure that rail industry decision makers hear and read more about the new generation of vehicle maintenance depots and the significant advancements in efficiency offered by some of the latest depot equipment to hit the market.

“Just as the latest EMUs have become more efficient by distributing power and intelligence along the vehicle, modern depot equipment is following this very successful lead. While fundamental to the success of these systems, distributed intelligence alone is not the answer. Having an effective means to share the knowledge and pool the resource is what makes these systems special.”

Traditional standalone equipment, while still functioning in secure isolation independent of other activities, relays information back to the Mechan Depot Manager™ over a LONWorks industrial network. A multi-vehicle lifting system will have its own local network configuration for communication between each intelligent jack and, since each jack has its own intelligent capability, a small roving panel is all that is required to control and monitor the entire system. Feedback from the roving panel to the main network informs the Mechan Depot Manager™ of system status.

Mechan SMART™ Depot Personnel Protection panels, which not only protect personnel but report on areas requiring immediate or future attention, now provide unprecedented local control over vehicle movements by logging and reporting which vehicles and staff were present when and where.

When faults develop, accurate diagnosis is key to an efficient solution. To ensure the diagnosis is quick and accurate, local and remote diagnostic capabilities are embedded within the installations. Remote diagnostics allow system design engineers to evaluate the problem from Head Office, while liaising with local maintenance personnel to implement a solution. 

“Depot equipment alone does not and will not create an efficiently run facility,” Richard Carr concludes. “The role of the depot manager and his team will always be the most important foundation stone to have in place. However, management deprived of up-to-date, accurate information may be prone to errors and inefficiencies. Premier league fleet maintenance facilities have this information and are gaining the edge. If you’re not already planning to embrace this new capability, division 1 looms on the horizon.”   

Mechan Limited / Mechan Technology Limited
Thorncliffe Park, Newton Chambers Road
Chapeltown, Sheffield S35 2PH
Tel: 0114 257 0563
Email: info@mechan.co.uk
Web: www.mechan.co.uk and www.mechantechnology.co.uk
Contact: Richard Carr, Business Development Director