THAMESLINK
new cab, the new arrangement in the cab and the new technology in there.
“There’s also the new bogie, and the work Siemens and Network Rail have done together on that to look at how we understand minimising the costs on the infrastructure of these units. Moving forward, that’s going to be a huge benefit in terms of continuing to drive down on the cost base and maintenance costs in the future.
“This is a great train, and it’s really exciting for the people who are going to use it.”
He said that since the infrastructure work on Thameslink “is groundbreaking and revolutionary” that “it’s fitting that we should have a train that fits that bill as well”.
Design specification
FCC’s MD David Statham told RTM that capacity is the key factor. He said: “With 55 12-car trains and 60 eight-car trains, we’ll have longer trains, we’ll have more of them – 1,140 vehicles – and that combination of longer trains and more vehicles enables us, across the morning peak, to offer loads more capacity. That’s 80% more seats in the morning peak across central London and 40% more seats into central London.
“As FCC, we’ve put on 29% more seats since 2006, over the life of this franchise. We’ve already done a lot to address capacity, but the long term answer is in these new trains.
“But as well as capacity, passengers are going to see a massively enhanced travelling environment. There’s all sorts of new features of this train that will improve people’s journeys. It’s a lighter, brighter, airier environment, with loads more space for luggage, better real- time passenger information not just about Thameslink but about connecting services; it has smart air conditioning that senses the number of people in the carriage and amends the temperature accordingly.”
He said: “We have worked really hard to get this design to the stage it’s got to. We signed the contracts back in June, to a really well- developed specification that the DfT led but we and Network Rail inputted into. In terms of the spec, we’ve already done the design reviews for the train and there are already vehicles built so I would have guessed we wouldn’t want to go making any seismic changes at this point. We’re already in the build phase – but that doesn’t mean that if we go through and pick up on bits and pieces, that we won’t be able to tweak that. In fact the mock-up itself has been incredibly handy for us to take stakeholders to, to take drivers to, so we’ve already worked with this particular mock-up to make the cab more ergonomic, for example.”
Whole system
Thameslink is about far more than just the trains, of course. RTM’s last major update on the infrastructure side of the project was our major feature in our Aug/Sept 2013 edition, including an interview with projects director Ian Duncan-Santiago. The point was made in that article that since both the rolling stock and the signalling is being delivered by Siemens
Statham reiterated this point in our interview at ExCel, saying: “The whole Thameslink programme doesn’t work unless you treat it as a whole system. That means you have to ensure the train, the infrastructure, the signalling, the station staff, the operations, and even the way that passengers behave, are incorporated into a whole system that delivers 24tph across London.
At this advanced stage, we asked Statham whether the design was completely sealed – or could still change based on feedback and testing.
(originally by Invensys, whose rail signalling division has been acquired by Siemens), there are high hopes that there can be some true systems thinking.
“We’ve worked with Network Rail on the specification of the infrastructure on the approaches to and from London Bridge from the east and west to remove some of the bottlenecks; we’ve worked on the train spec to ensure it fits well with our operations; Network Rail are in the middle of consulting on the new signalling system, which will support the implementation of this.
“We’ve got a really well-advanced approach to systems integration. There’s a systems integration authority for the Thameslink programme, which makes sure the system works as a whole. That’s something we’re pretty much in the lead on for the industry, and our particular approach was commended in the McNulty review.”
Continued overleaf > rail technology magazine Feb/Mar 14 | 85
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