Siemens’ successful, significant new train
RICHARD CLINNICK examines why the Siemens Class 700 Desiro City was adjudged Train of the Year at RAIL’s National Rail Awards
Atrain that sets new standards in life cycle design, operational efficiency and passenger amenity” was how respected National Rail Awards judges described the Siemens Class 700.
As a result, it was the Govia Thameslink Railway fleet that scooped the NRA Train of the Year (passenger) at the ‘Railway Oscars’, held on September 13 at the Grosvenor House Hotel, London.
At 1,140 vehicles split between 115 trains, the Class 700 was one of the UK’s largest ever train orders. The deal was broken down into 55 12-car sets and 60 eight-car trains. The 12-car sets entered service first on Bedford-Brighton routes, before GTR extended their operations across its network.
They began operating on the Great Northern network from earlier this year, and the full through service via the Canal Tunnels was introduced in May, albeit amid significant problems that have required several timetable changes ( RAIL 854) and the deferral of the new timetable plans ( RAIL 857).
The ‘700s’ have been designed to carry three million passengers per day by 2019, equating to 20%-25% of all commuters travelling to and from London.
GTR introduced the entire fleet into traffic in less than two years, in what the NRA judges described as “the most successful and significant train introduction programme”.
And they have made history by becoming the first main line train to successfully use Automatic Train Operation (ATO) and European Train Control System (ETCS) while in passenger traffic. This was achieved on March 17 this year (see panel).
Following a protracted ordering process, the contract for the ‘700s’ was finally placed in 2013. Less than two years later trains were on test in Germany, and the first set entered traffic in June 2016. By May this year the 115th and final Class 700 was delivered to the UK, and all have now carried passengers.
Siemens had been named preferred bidder in 2011, although the deal wasn’t signed until June 2013. By that time the company had already carried out development work, and this enabled the development, engineering, testing, production and commissioning of a new platform to be delivered either on time
or ahead of schedule at all stages. The manufacturer said no changes were needed to the original production plan, and that for 30 months the Krefeld factory (where they were built) was producing up to ten new vehicles per week. Eighty tonnes of new material were being delivered to the facility each day to satisfy demand, and construction was achieved alongside production of other fleets such as the Eurostar e320 Velaros and South West Trains Class 707s.
They are the first ‘Second Generation’ fully digital-enabled trains to enter passenger traffic, says the manufacturer. This means that all the services and cabling is in the roof, rather than in vehicle-end cabinets, or in the mechanical area below the train. This design also enables more space within the saloon.
By the end of next year all 115 trains will be in timetabled service, with trains passing through the centre of London every two and a half minutes at peak time - providing 70% more peak seats through Thameslink’s ‘Core’ section.
The trains were specifically designed to meet the various needs of what is a difficult route to serve. Is the Thameslink route one for commuters? Is it a Metro service? What about Luton and Gatwick Airports? Or the number of leisure travellers bound for the South Coast at Brighton? All this had to be considered when the trains were ordered and designed.
What has been delivered are trains with wide entrance doors and 2+2 seating, as well as standing areas that cater for the high numbers travelling at peak periods. This design enables dwell times of no more than 45 seconds at London stations (the fastest on the UK national network). This includes arriving and stopping, opening the door for 30 seconds, and departing. This design enables a 12-car set to carry as many as 2,000 passengers at peak-time.
The design also means that while Thameslink is planned to be a 24 train per hour operation, there is scope for 28tph. To achieve 24tph, the ‘700s’ will operate automatically through the ‘Core’.
There are also several luggage racks designed for airport traffic, while larger aisles assist with the movement of passengers and their baggage.
In this digital age, the trains also provide live travel information covering the status of both main line and London Underground systems. Passengers are able to locate the optimum place to board via the train’s carriage occupancy displays, which use a loading assessment to advise people where there is space. At the time of the submission this was limited to on-board the ‘700s’, but the plan is to roll it out across GTR stations.
The ‘700’ also features a fully automatic climatic control system designed to maintain the temperature at 21°C throughout the train. However, it compensates for carriage loading, so that fuller vehicles receive more cool air.
Siemens highlighted that during the period
of severe winter weather in early March, the ‘700s’ remained in normal service and achieved more than 50% right-time running. It also pointed out that since their introduction, the number of ‘right-time’ arrivals in the ‘core’ has significantly improved.
At the time of its NRA entry in the spring, Siemens believed that a Miles Per Technical Incident (MTIN) record of 10,000 was required to achieve a robust timetable. The ‘700s’ were achieving 15,000 MTIN, although the manufacturer points out the difficulty in comparisons with other fleets because the ‘700’ is a fixed-formation train of either eight or 12 vehicles, and is allocated lower mileage values ( by a factor of two to three) for MTIN and miles per incident calculation when compared with individual electric multiple units coupled together (such as Electrostars or Class 450s).
Diagnostic data is constantly communicated between the train and the Siemens service centre - this enables the on-board systems to be monitored, thereby allowing preventative action to be taken in the event of a fault.
This is achieved not only through train maintenance systems, but also by processing data through Siemens’ Digital Operating Centre. Issues such as station dwell-time delays and railhead information can be examined and dealt with, and passed to the infrastructure controller in real time. Siemens says this capability is another first for a main line commuter train.
The ‘700’ has also been constructed with built-in redundancy in the train systems, which means it can remain in traffic with nonsafety-related faults that can be repaired either at the end of a journey or when it reaches a depot.
It has also been developed as a platform, which means that the design can be configured to suit the needs of different investors and/or routes. The ‘700’ is the first Desiro City, and the order has been followed by the Class 707s for South West Trains, and the ‘717s’ for GTR’s Great Northern operations. These are specifically commuter trains, rather than mixed-use as per the ‘700’.