Alstom opens state-of-the-art train maintenance facility in Liverpool

Alstom inaugurated a new train maintenance centre in Edge Hill, Liverpool, in the presence of Councillor Mike Storey CBE, Lord Mayor of Liverpool. The creation of the facility recognises the importance of the Liverpool site in Alstoms maintenance operations carried out on the Pendolino fleet for Virgin Trains.

Thanks to a  £15-million pound investment from Network Rail in the facility, the site at Edge Hill in Liverpool is now able to receive up to eight high-speed tilting Pendolino trains for maintenance every night, rather than the five it formerly handled. The increase in activity supports the intense running of the Pendolino fleet which requires 47 of the 52 trains to be available for Virgin Trains to operate on a daily basis.

As of November 2010, the first of 4 new 11-car Pendolino trains currently being built at Alstoms factory in Savigliano, Italy, will arrive at Edge Hill for testing. In preparation for the fleet extension, the new facility was built with the longer trains in mind and it will also assure the integration of two new carriages into 31 of the existing nine-car trains ready for passenger service in 2012.

The current centre, built in the 1960s to accommodate diesel trains, could only handle basic maintenance tasks, and major work was carried out at Alstoms four other centres on the West Coast Main Line. New lifting and access equipment will enable the teams to carry out a wider range of maintenance tasks including the replacement of pantographs, wheelsets, windscreens and catering equipment.

Tony Collins, Virgin Trains Chief Executive said: Virgin Trains is delighted that Alstom and Network Rail have invested in this state-of-the-art train maintenance depot in Liverpool. The increased range of maintenance and overhaul tasks that it can now undertake provides greater flexibility in Pendolino train maintenance and has improved train reliability and availability. The new facility reinforces our commitment to the Liverpool region.

According to Paul Robinson, Managing Director of Alstom Transport UK, This new facility firmly puts Liverpool on the map for its strategic role in the delivery of the Pendolino fleet and introduction of new vehicles. In addition, it secures jobs for our employees as well as expanding their skill sets.

About Pendolino

Alstoms Pendolino has been a genuine success story since its launch in 1998, with over 200 million kilometres covered in commercial service. The Pendolino, in electric or diesel version, operates in 9 countries: Italy, Germany, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Slovenia, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Spain and Finland. Russia will be added to the list from 2010, with the opening of the high-speed line between Saint Petersburg and Helsinki. With a market share of 95% in the world and in Europe, Alstom is the indisputable leader in the tilting electric trains sector