11.07.13
South West Trains opens new paint depot
The South West Trains/Network Rail alliance has officially opened a new paint depot in Bournemouth, bringing maintenance and painting together in-house for the first time.
The £3.5m facility in Westbourne and will allow four-car trains to be prepared, painted, cleaned, renovated and tested within 28 days. It was constructed by BAM Nuttall and forms part of the larger £23m, four-year programme to overhaul SWT’s Class 455 fleet.
Christian Roth, fleet director for the South West Trains-Network Rail Alliance, said: “This is good news for Dorset – by opening this new depot we have created 38 new jobs and brought new skills to the Bournemouth depot, which benefits the local economy. All of our new staff are from the local community.
“Thanks to this new facility in Bournemouth, we no longer have to send our trains elsewhere for repainting. We are now able to maintain and paint all our fleets in-house for the first time ever, helping to ensure that our trains spend more time transporting our passengers and less time in depots.”
Tell us what you think – have your say below, or directly at [email protected]