Siemens Mobility has officially opened a new 6 million GBP Multi-Functional Centre at its Kings Heath Depot in Northampton.
The new facility aims to provide increased capabilities for modifications and upgrades to the UK’s passenger train fleet, including interior refurbishments such as a number of improvements to seating, toilets, luggage stacks and charging ports.
In addition to the centre itself, the investment from Siemens also enables mobile capabilities, with a team now able to be deployed nationwide to complete modification work on passenger trains. Recently, a team completed the first-in-class installation on a third-party fleet, fitting Siemens Mobility’s Variable Rate Sanding technology.
The next mobile project is set to be the upgrade of train data recorders (OTDR) on a number of third party fleets, which are expected to improve reliability and availability.
Now officially in operation; the first project to begin on site will focus on the refurbishment of the East Midland Railway’s Class 360 trains.
The opening of the new centre brings Siemens Mobility’s total investment within the UK to 340 million GBP in recent years. Other projects have included the opening of its 240 million GBP Rail Village in Goole, and a further 100 million GBP for the company’s Rail Technology Centre in Chippenham, Wiltshire.
