08.04.08
Double first for First Great Western
First Great Western has won recognition for its £143 million investment programme to improve its high-speed train fleet by winning both the Rolling Stock Excellence of the Year and the Engineering Excellence of the Year categories at this year’s HSBC Rail Business Awards.
The Rolling Stock Excellence award is for the company's £63million refresh of the interiors of its entire fleet of high speed trains, covering 53 sets of 407 carriages which has greatly improved the service life and performance of the fleet including increased seating capacity.
The Engineering Excellence award is for the completion of a comprehensive £80 million re-engining programme for 117 high speed train Class 43 power cars including replacing the existing engines with an MTU engine. In addition external liveries were updated and laminated glass was installed. Simultaneously a comprehensive £80 million re-engineering programme for 117 power cars has also been undertaken, making a total investment of £143 million on this flagship fleet.
The new engines increase reliability, extend service life, improve safety and deliver environmental benefits. All the re-engineering work was completed on time and on budget.
The power cars are now delivering a dramatic increase in reliability and the engine system is currently operating at around five times the previous miles-per-casualty levels, which give great business benefits. The power cars now have a further 10 to 12 years of life and the work will pay for itself in approximately five years.
The project was a joint initiative with Brush Traction which engineered the installation design and has carried out the conversion work at its Loughborough factory.
The complete redesign covers everything from seats, lighting, toilets and power points to livery and improved catering services. Improving safety standards has been paramount throughout the refresh programme.
The feel and tone for the new carriages was developed by one of the world's leading industrial designers, ex Porsche and award-winning Eurostar designer Michael Rodber. The concept was for a warm and welcoming environment for customers that was both lighter and brighter. Bombardier Transportation in Derby completed the new look interiors for the carriages.
Graham Boot-Handford, engineering projects director at First Great Western, says: "As a result of this work we have seen a measurable increase in the performance and reliability of our fleet and a step change in the levels of comfort and cleanliness inside our high speed trains."
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