Work has begun to transform East Midlands Railway’s (EMR) Etches Park depot in Derby in preparation for the arrival of the company’s new Aurora train fleet.
The £35 million project, which is largely funded by rolling stock company RockRail, will be delivered in two phases, firstly to upgrade the site to accommodate the new bi-mode Aurora fleet and secondly the construction of new train cleaning areas, replacement offices and staff facilities at the site’s South Shed.
The first phase of works, which comes at a cost of £15 million and will be undertaken by Buckingham Group Contracting Ltd (Buckingham), will involve reconfiguring the current track layout at the site – helping to improve operational flexibility and greater train movements across the depot.
Alongside these works, the North Shed, where trains are maintained at the depot, will also be extended and a new electric overhead line will be fitted so the new bi-mode fleet can easily be tested.
Further to this, a new carriage wash system will be built at the site, all fuelling and servicing equipment will be upgraded, and the depot’s fuel road will be extended – helping to accommodate 2 x 5 car units.
New technology will play a key role in the future of the depot, including the use of a new Vehicle Equipment Monitoring System. This system feeds back numerous levels of detailed data to EMR so it can quickly monitor its trains in real-time – helping to plan preventative maintenance at the depot and leading to an enhanced performance of its trains.
Lisa Angus, transitions and projects director at East Midlands Railway, said: “These massive improvements to Etches Park are great news for the city of Derby and the customers we serve.
“Using the latest technology and techniques, we will be able to operate our new Aurora fleet as efficiently as possible, while also maintaining specialist engineering jobs in the city for decades to come – helping to cement Derby’s proud railway heritage.
“Everyone at EMR is very excited to begin operating our new Aurora trains for our customers in the East Midlands and South Yorkshire and these new improvements are another important step on our journey to bring the new trains to the regions we serve.”
