ALSTOM invests £32 million to transform west coast
depots into Traincare Centres

2002-11-14-pendo-lift-l,2.jpg

All ALSTOM’s Traincare Centres on the west coast have
benefited from investment under the CEP.  ALSTOM and Kier
Rail worked in close partnership to complete the work at six
sites in Glasgow, Liverpool,
Manchester,
Oxley, Wembley and Willesden, all on time and within
budget.  Despite the unavoidable disruption at the depots,
availability to ALSTOM’s customers was not affected.

The improvements include new train-washing
plants, controlled-emission toilet equipment, overhead
air-conditioning-lifting equipment, secure site-access control, a
simultaneous train-lifting system, wheel-drop and
underframe-equipment removal plant, depot-protection systems and
track and overhead-line improvements. 

In addition to the CEP, which is now complete, the Railtrack
deal in March 2001 that transferred responsibility for plant
renewal to ALSTOM in return for longer depot-leasing terms is
allowing further improvements to be made in all six Traincare
Centres up to a value of £8.5M. This enables ALSTOM to
manage renewal of equipment such as track, yard lighting, shed
heating and shore supplies, which will enhance the production
logistics of each Traincare Centre. To date, slightly more than
£5 million has been spent, with the remaining work to be
completed over the next 18 months.

Martin Chamberlin, Infrastructure Director for ALSTOM’s
Maintenance UK business, said: “If you think back some four
to five years, when the whole of the west coast project was being
procured, the lead time to seeing new trains and major depot
changes seemed a lifetime away.  Partnering with Kier Rail,
the form of contract used and the efforts of all our colleagues
at the Traincare Centres has allowed us to finish the £24
million CEP within budget, and in time for the service commitment
to the PENDOLINOS. We said we would make the changes, and we did
just that.  Credit is due to the Traincare Centre people,
and to the integrated project management team of ALSTOM and Kier
Rail, who were instrumental in achieving the project
goals.”

Paul Whitehead, Contracts Manager for Kier Rail, commented:
“The partnering philosophy adopted by ALSTOM and Kier Rail
and the contractual structure of our agreement allowed the
project to develop in an open and flexible manner. We were able
to address any challenges as they arose and meet everyone’s
targets. Kier Rail extended this philosophy into the supply chain
with specialist equipment manufacturers such as Wesurail, Mechan
and Sefac, which allowed value engineering and alternatives to be
investigated and developed well in advance of installation. 
This assisted in reducing potential disruption within the
Traincare Centres.

For more infomation, read the article on the
unveiling
of the transformation of the West Coast Traincare Centre in
Manchester.

With more than 35 product lines and a presence in over 60
countries, ALSTOM's Transport Sector offers cutting-edge
products and services to four distinct types of customers:
urban transit authorities and operators; intercity passenger
rail operators and rolling stock owners; rail freight
operators; and intercity railway infrastructure owners.
ALSTOM's Transport Sector, with 4.4  billion euros in
sales in 2001, is among the world's leading suppliers to the
railway industry.

Press information:
Helen Connolly

Tel. +33 (0)1 41 66 91 43

helen.connolly@transport.alstom.com

• Visit the Virgin Trains website