These transformational upgrades were unveiled today (Monday 16 December) during an event in which Daniel Francis, MP for Bexleyheath and Crayford, visited the depot to see the upgraded facilities.
The depot, which employs 180 people locally, looks after five different types of train, a situation that could change in the future if options are realised to upgrade the fleet with new trains that could deliver transformational improvements for customers, providing more reliable, comfortable and accessible journeys.
Supporting the maintenance of the train fleet, the Network Rail and Southeastern Alliance has worked together to install a new wheel lathe (machinery which reprofiles train wheels giving passengers a smoother ride), as well as a new carriage wash and extended overhead gantry and lifting cranes that have recently been introduced for the Class 707 City Beam trains, which has been supported by Siemens Mobility
The new wheel lathe allows Southeastern to service its five-vehicle fleet, which includes the Class 707 City Beam. The old wheel lathe, which was installed at the introduction of Networkers in the early 1990’s, was limited to a maximum of four vehicle turns.
Train wheels experience daily wear and tear that can result in small ‘flat’ spots on the wheels, particularly during the autumn leaf-fall season. The two moveable cutting heads on the lathe can re-profile wheels with precision, measuring the size of each one and then accurately calculating how much metal to cut away. The wheel is then re-profiled, and the roundness is restored.
The lathe finishes its work by measuring the train wheels to ensure their quality before the train returns to service – with the benefit being that trains are back in service more quickly for passengers, who experience a smoother ride and fewer cancellations as a result.
Watch our short video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVhOJ4oAWio&feature=youtu.be
Mark Johnson, Southeastern’s Engineering Director said: “Our railway is getting busier, and at Southeastern we’re seeing record post-pandemic passenger numbers, with over 400k daily entries and exits being recorded at our London terminals.
“This is encouraging news, and we’re working hard to support this growth by improving performance and reducing subsidy.
“We’re very proud of the great work that is done at Slade Green with Siemens and the wider team to keep our trains in the best possible condition for customer service, with recent improvements we’ve made in partnership with Network Rail ensuring that we have the most cost-effective and efficient maintenance regime, helping us also to prepare for any potential new or cascaded fleet in the coming years.”
David Davidson, Network Rail’s Kent Route Director said: “We are building a better, more reliable and sustainable railway, and underpinning that is our ambition is to deliver better performance and reduce our subsidy.
“It’s really important to the Alliance that we invest in our train depots, so that they meet the needs not only of the current train fleet but also the future train fleet. Our Alliance with Southeastern can achieve so much more as a single structure that can focus on things like performance – and that’s embodied in the way we are investing in Slade Green depot.”
Mark Barry, Fleet Operations Director at Siemens Mobility, said: “It was great to show Daniel Francis MP some of the work our team does at Slade Green, working as one team with Southeastern to maintain our next-generation digital fleet of Desiro City Class 707 trains.
"The technical expertise our team offers, combined with cutting-edge Railigent digital remote monitoring technology to prevent technical failures, helps keep our fleet in service for passengers travelling on the network."
Daniel Francis, Labour MP for Bexleyheath and Crayford said: “The Slade Green depot in my constituency is approaching its 125th anniversary next year and it's been great to see the work going on here, the employment opportunities it brings to local people and the maintenance carried out to ensure trains across the network can run every day.”
