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Siemens adopts pit-stop style maintenance: the pit-stop concept, developed to a fine art in motor racing, has been adopted by trainmaker and maintainer, Siemens, in a purpose-built maintenance depot in the south of England.

Article Excerpt
IN principle, there's not much difference between changing a train bogie and changing a set of wheels on a Formula One racing car. Men with the right skills and equipment that is fit-for-purpose need to be in the right place at file right time whether in the pits or the maintenance shop. The timing of the visit is also important in both cases.

This pit-stop approach has been developed by Siemens to maintain 785 Desiro cars that it is building for South West Trains. Some minor examinations and inspections will also be carried out at the Strawberry Hill depot in west London.

The 25 [pounds sterling] million Northam traincare centre in Southampton, claimed to be the best in Britain and one of the most technologically modern in Europe, opened at the beginning of July. Siemens has a 20-year contract to maintain the Desiro cars, which are now coming into service.

The trains will be running 32 diagrams from the start of the winter timetable this month. But this will increase as soon as the power supply in the region has been upgraded. Siemens in a joint venture with Amec Spie Rail Systems has a 70 million [euro] contract for the first phase of the Wessex area traction supply upgrade, which is due for completion next year. More trains will be introduced gradually until, as one Siemens manager put it "in 18 to 24 months it will culminate in a crescendo of Desiros".

The fleet consists of 100 four-car (each car 20m long) class 450...