TRAIN MANUFACTURING IN DERBY HAS A BRIGHT FUTURE AHEAD OF IT, THE COMPANY’S UK MANAGING DIRECTOR RICHARD HUNTER TELLS PHILIP SHERRATT
The new train business is booming. Orders have flooded in over recent months, and manufacturers are busy ramping up production on a range of new fleets.
Bombardier is no exception. While its Derby factory is now building what are likely to be the final Electrostars (for Great Western Railway), the main production run of Class 345 Aventra EMUs for the Elizabeth Line in London has begun. The manufacturer is also in the early stages of producing Aventras for London Overground (Class 710) and is finalising the design for a major order for Abellio’s suburban routes in East Anglia.
PRODUCTIONISED
All this will be delivered in the next 3.5 years – a challenging schedule. And for Bombardier, key to meeting these targets has been ‘productionising’ the assembly of new trains. The company’s UK managing director, Richard Hunter, describes the Aventra as ‘one of the most productionised trains seen around the world’.
Utilising a concept derived from the aerospace side of the business, Bombardier has developed a ‘train zero’ test facility. This simulates a virtual train to test electric…
