01.08.16
There has never been a ‘better designed’ train than Crossrail
There has never been a train “better prepared or better designed” in the UK than the Crossrail train, London Underground’s managing director Mark Wild told RTM at a visit to Bombardier’s testing facility in Derby.
Speaking to RTM after the first Crossrail train, Class 345, was unveiled and taken for a ride across the Bombardier test track for the first time, Wild sang the many praises of the state-of-the-art vehicle, calling it a “world-class train” for passengers.
“It’s a sensational train. I’m so pleased to see it – it’s so exciting,” he said. “I’ve been lucky enough to be involved with other train procurements in my career and this is definitely the best. This will be a big success – obviously it has to be tested thoroughly, but it is already looks great.”
Three trains were present at the Bombardier facility, two of which were parked and open to TfL guests and the press in order to showcase the different interior configurations of the carriages. In total, 1,500 people will be able to board the train, with 450 sitting down.
“That’s pretty typical of high-intensity metro operations around the world,” Wild said after being asked if there were too few seats in favour of more standing space. “It’s what our customers want.
“The layout of the seats is also different per different carriage, so where people will crowd there’s more space, and at the end of the trains, where people might not be crowding on, there’s more seats. So a lot of thought has gone into the ergonomics of this train.
“But generally, the average journey on this train will be 15 minutes – so what people want is to be safe, comfortable, and air conditioned, but they really want to get on. Capacity is one of the big drivers – but 450 seats if a really good ratio.”
Asked by RTM if he will be implementing any lessons learned from the Crossrail rolling stock procurement in Crossrail 2, Wild said he had really loved the way the train was being tested by Bombardier and the TfL team.
“We’re doing a lot of the testing, the integration testing, away from the railway,” he explained. “So that’s a big breakthrough; that means we don’t have to disturb our existing railway to test it, which means suspensions and line occupations.
“Here what’s really impressive is the integration testing is happening in a lab, so when systems all come together, we’ve really de-risked the testing of this train.”
Wild added another lesson is to “really think” about the ergonomics of the Crossrail 2 layout in order to make it a “sensational experience” for passengers.
“So those two things, really: the technical integration is very clever, very smart, and it’ll pay off in certainty; but the train itself is just really sensational for customers. Crossrail 2 is in the early stages of development, but this sets the benchmark – this sets the bar high.”
Wild added that there aren’t yet any changes he would make to the Crossrail 2 procurement process based on lessons from Crossrail, but noted this could change as the train goes into service from next year.
“One thing we do pretty well is look at what our customers think, and we’re perpetually asking our customers, so there will be learnings when you actually get customers on it,” he added.
“I’ve never seen a train better prepared and better designed – but you never know.”
The 66-train Crossrail fleet will operate on the TfL-run line serving the West End, City and Docklands in the capital, running from Reading and Heathrow in the west across to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east. This includes building new track and new stations to accommodate the longer train, which can run in seven-car to nine-car formations.
The first trains will initially be seven-cars, or 160m long, to fit existing platforms at Liverpool Street, but nine-car trains will soon be introduced from May 2018, the year when the core section of the project opens.
Each train is built from lightweight materials specifically designed to generate electricity back into the power supply when the train brakes, thus using up to 30% less energy.
For more details of our Bombardier visit and interview with Wild, make sure to read the upcoming August/September edition of RTM.