Testing the first FLEX

The first converted FLEX (769434) arrived at the Great Central Railway on September 17, and has been used for various testing on the heritage line - running at speeds up to 75mph.

Porterbrook Commercial Manager Mark Isbern told RAIL that the train has “behaved itself” with only minor electrical changes required. He explained that because it is a modular design, any issues that have been detected can be replaced that day, with the train only a few miles away from where it was converted. Testing of the engines using a specialist test rig at Brush Traction has been under way since the start of the year.

At the GCR, 769434 has undergone type testing with support from MAN, which manufactured the engines. Tests have also been carried out to minitor the braking and noise.

When RAIL travelled on the ‘769’, engineers were carrying out Electro-Magnetic Current (EMC) testing. Dynamic testing was carried out on this set before load banking, and Isbern said that no problems had been encountered.

FLEX can be tested at speeds up to 75mph on the GCR (only when no other trains are running), but the set is rated at 100mph for electric and around 90mph in diesel mode - this will be confirmed during the main line testing.

On the GCR it is driven by Great Central Railway drivers, although Northern drivers have started training. Rail Operations Group has been contracted to carry out the main line testing, which will be conducted in a Signal Protection Zone (SPZ) to enable 100mph crush load tests to be completed.

Initial tests show that the ‘769’ is performing exactly as modelled. Wabtec has fitted engine system monitoring equipment that can check how the train is performing, while any in-service issues can be downloaded and evaluated.