First Stadler Class 777 arrives on Merseyside
THE first of Stadler Merseyrail’s new Class 777 EMUs was delivered to Kirkdale depot in the early hours of January 16 after a journey across Europe.
Set No. 777003 is the first fully completed unit, with sets 777001/002 having been fitted with temporary panels in place of the end emergency evacuation doors, while undergoing testing at Siemens’ Wildenrath facility.
The set was shown to the press on January 27 as Merseyrail prepared for an extensive programme of testing and evaluation.
The contract is for the supply of 52 four-car trains for the Liverpool City Region, replacing the Class 507 and
508 fleets, which are now more than 40 years old.
Maintenance
A £700million deal was signed with Stadler in February 2017, and includes a maintenance contract, with Stadler undertaking light and heavy maintenance of the units throughout their 35-year life cycle at the new depot at Kirkdale.
It had been planned for the first set to arrive mid-2019 and enter service in spring 2020, but those timescales have now slipped.
All 52 sets are owned outright by Merseytravel rather than leased, which has been the case for the Class 507 and 508 units. Merseytravel will lease them to Merseyrail, ensuring they will remain on the local network throughout their working lives.
Merseytravel has an option to buy up to 60 additional units should operations be extended to include Helsby, Skelmersdale or Wrexham.
As these extensions may not involve further third rail electrification, the 777s have dual-voltage capability to enable them to take power from overhead AC electrification as well as the DC third rail.
Options also exist for battery/electric powering, and it is anticipated one set in the initial tranche will be so fitted to enable battery operation to be evaluated.
Space underneath one vehicle will be able to house a battery weighing around five tonnes while keeping the axle loads within specification.
As well as the ability to power sets away from the third rail the batteries could also be used to recycle energy from braking. All 777s will be fitted with small batteries, which allow independent movement around workshop and maintenance facilities, reducing CO2 impact and saving money.
The sets have larger vestibules and more grab handles, improving safety for standing passengers as well. One new feature is a transparent screen behind the driver, allowing passengers a forward-facing view of the line.
While seen regularly on tram vehicles this has not been seen on rail vehicles for a long time. The screens can become opaque at the flick of a switch on the driver’s desk, should this be needed in an emergency. CCTV is standard throughout the sets.
The new sets have lower floors, only 960mm above rail level, with intelligent sliding steps similar to the Class 755s
(see feature on p27).
Wide gangways mean the sets will be ‘walk-through’, and a wheelchair user can pass through the length of a train. This accessibility will also be of value to passengers with push-chairs, cyclists and the elderly.
Tight tolerance
Accessibility has required extensive work at many stations to ensure the platform height is within a very tight tolerance and is linked to a programme that will also see some platform and signalling work to allow the longer units to be operated in multiple.
Merseytravel’s rolling stock programme director David Powell explained work to strengthen the power supply is also on-going.
Long distances between feeder points mean that currently the nominal 750v DC can fall to slightly below 400v at the furthest points from the feeders.
With their basic control systems the 507 and 508s will accept this voltage and continue to work, with a somewhat reduced performance. However, the
777s, with their higher power demands and modern control systems, will refuse to operate when the supply falls to around 500v, so new substations will be needed.
This programme will be completed in advance of the full fleet introduction and should be completed by the end of 2020.
It is hoped the first set will enter traffic in the latter part of 2020 following a comprehensive testing and crew training programme.