Stadler has completed the basic structure of the first train for Liverpool’s Merseyrail suburban network, with the wheelsets attached to the bodyshell. Factory-based testing has commenced. After all processes are completed, the trains will undergo routine static commissioning as a first step in preparing them for the authorisation required to enter service.
Dynamic-testing will kick off at a test-ring in Wildenrath, Germany later this autumn. Much of the testing is being undertaken at this purpose-built facility to minimise the need for testing and any associated disruption on the Merseyrail network itself.
The first train is due to arrive in Liverpool for testing later this year. The trains will begin to be rolled out for passengers from 2020.
“These state-of-the-art trains are game-changing, not just for us but for the whole industry. Not only will they be UK-leading in accessibility, they are also publically owned, by us, and built specifically for our network and with features local people have said they want to see. I cannot wait to see them arrive on our network,” Metro Mayor for the Liverpool City Region, Steve Rotheram, said.
At the end of 2016, Stadler was awarded the contract for the supply and maintain 52 four-car trains which will replace Merseyrail’s 59 old EMUs. The contract has a value of GBP 460 million (EUR 513 million).
In the preparation of entering services, the reconstruction of Kirkdale train depot is nearing completion. In 2017, Stadler Rail Services UK awarded BAM Nuttall a contract for the construction of the train depot and to refurbish to modern standards an existing depot in Birkenhead North. The project is part of Stadler’s train contract.
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