SPECIALIST CLEANING On The Right Track
Arriva Trains Wales operates a fleet that travels over 13 million miles each year. When covering these kinds of distances, its trains pick up their fair share of dirt and grime. To ensure rolling stock is restored to pristine condition after each journey Arriva Trains asked Arrow Solutions, a specialist manufacturer of chemicals for the rail industry, for advice.
Arriva Trains Wales is a train operating company that serves Wales and the surrounding border regions. The company is part of the Arriva group, which is owned by Deutsche Bahn.
Arriva Trains Wales' £2.5million wash plant, where the rolling stock goes to be cleaned, is located at its sprawling Canton depot in Cardiff. The facility is situated between the Millennium Stadium and Cardiff City Stadium and in close proximity to the River Taff.
The 120,000 metre square site comes with three postcodes and a rich history. The depot first opened in 1882, one and a half miles east of Cardiff Central station. Originally built as the leading maintenance base for the South Wales Railway, it later became the main Welsh engineering base for the Great Western Railway and by 1931 Cardiff Canton had an allocation in excess of 120 locomotives.
The depot is now solely operated by Arriva Trains Wales. Due to the cleaning depot’s relatively central location and its proximity to the river Taff, Arriva Trains Wales needed to make sure the cleaning chemicals it used for exterior washing could easily be disposed of without additional treatment.
The train operating company also needed to avoid both excessive foaming and the contamination of the soil and the river’s waters. On the other hand the cleaning solution had to be strong enough to wash off the all the difficult oil, greases, dirt and grime from rolling stock exteriors.
Faced with these challenges Arriva Trains decided to consult its longstanding partner, Arrow Solutions.
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The recommendation came in the form of Arrow’s pH neutral Ecowash Autoshine detergent.
Exterior Train Wash “We currently have 134 trains and carriages; so we understandably require a lot of exterior train cleaner,” explained Phil Morgan, Arriva Trains Wales Depot Infrastructure Manager. “We originally started using Arrow Solutions because it could provide large volumes of exterior train wash for a competitive price. This was about ten years ago now.
“We continue to use Arrow's Ecowash Autoshine exterior train wash as an everyday cleaner because of its neutral pH. This means that we don't have to treat the product before disposal; it doesn’t contaminate surrounding soil or water, so we can let it run into the ground for greywater recycling.”
Train operating companies must abide by strict consent to discharge rates that are stipulated and enforced by local water boards. These guidelines dictate the pH levels of a company's waste water to protect the environment. Ecowash Autoshine is pH neutral (8.0- 10.0 depending on the dilution); the detergent is fully biodegradable and can be easily disposed of.
If the wash was more acidic for example, the mix would need to be neutralised in an interceptor beforehand. This would have been more labour intensive, time- consuming and costly.
In addition more aggressive cleaners would not be suitable for daily washes and would damage sensitive galvanised or aluminium surfaces. Conversely, Ecowash Autoshine removes all types of soiling from
rolling stock whilst helping to build a water and soil resistant finish, without damaging train exteriors.
At the Arriva Trains Wales' Canton depot, Welsh Water carries out tests every six weeks to ascertain that waste water pH levels are within the accepted limit. Arrow Solutions' work with Arriva Trains Wales has helped facilitate a harmonious relationship between operating company and Welsh Water, while also providing an eco-friendly exterior washing solution.
Disinfectant “The other Arrow Solutions product that we use in bulk is the Germfree 61 surface cleaner and sanitiser,” added Phil. “This is slightly unusual, in that the sanitiser is more commonly used for interior train cleaning, whereas we use it on the underside of all our rolling stock. This ensures that anyone working underneath the carriages or train won't be put at risk from unhygienic debris that may be caught there.”
Unfortunately, as in the case of road users, accidents involving wildlife sometimes take place. Using Germfree 61 – a cleaner containing a biocide – on the underside of rolling stock minimises the health risks to anyone working on the vehicles.
Although Germfree 61 is more commonly used in interior cleaning applications there is no reason why it can't be used as employed by Arriva Trains Wales. The detergent is non-caustic and won't harm the infrastructure under rolling stock, but it will give peace of mind to the user.
Location Due to the Canton depot's size and location there had always been
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