20.03.09
National Express East Coast launches its final refurbished and upgraded HST power cars back into service
Train operator National Express East Coast this week launched its final two HST power cars back into service after they were refurbished, upgraded and fitted with new high performing engines, installed as part of a £27 million investment.
The final two HST power cars to rejoin the National Express East Coast fleet bring the total number of refurbished HST power cars in service to 30. The refurbishment work was carried out by Brush Traction in Loughborough. 23 of the 30-strong National Express HST power car fleet is leased from Angel Trains and seven from Porterbrook.
The project, which began in October 2006, has been jointly financed by National Express and Angel Trains, who invested £7.2m. It includes the installation of new MTU engines by Brush Traction, in conjunction with Porterbrook. The new MTU 16V4000R41 engines significantly improve performance of the HST fleet, with the repowered vehicles delivering a 15 per cent improvement in fuel consumption. They are also quieter than the previous Valenta engines and have a longer service life.
In addition, the newly installed engines have a 99.4 per cent reliability rate, with technical delays to services virtually eliminated. The new engines produce lower exhaust emissions that comply with new European legislation - reinforcing the train’s position as the most environmentally friendly, carbon efficient and sustainable form of transport.
National Express East Coast Managing Director Susan Goldsmith said: “This Continued Service Operation project on the popular HSTs has proved very successful, and the significant investment in these trains provides an improved service to our passengers on the East Coast Main Line, thanks to the HSTs' improved performance and reliability.
“It has been a privilege to work with Brush Traction and MTU and the work carried out by them has been fantastic. By extending the life of the HSTs and keeping them fit for purpose, they maintain their iconic status on the UK railway while looking and performing like new trains.”
John Bidewell, Brush Traction’s Managing Director, said: “Brush Traction is proud to be associated with this project to improve and extend the life of the NXEC HST fleet, bringing tangible benefits to the travelling public, the operator and the environment.”
Mike Ferris, MTU-UK’s Managing Director, said: “This has been a tremendously successful project for all concerned. The collaboration between the various parties involved has created a much broader partnership than ever envisaged. This has further contributed to the delivery of significant improvements for the industry, operator and passenger. MTU is very proud to have been part of this team.”
The project to extend the life of the diesel HST fleet with the introduction of more efficient MTU engines has been accompanied by a separate project to completely refurbish the interior of the train carriages, creating a more comfortable and contemporary interior.
This refurbishment is being carried out by Wabtec Rail in Doncaster. In the longer term, the HSTs are soon to be replaced by a new fleet of high-speed trains as part of the Intercity Express Project led by the Department for Transport (DfT).
The DfT announced in February 2009 that Agility Trains will build the new fleet of trains after a procurement exercise that named them as the preferred bidder. The test trains are expected to begin trials on the East Coast Main Line from 2013, prior to a wider roll out in 2015
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