Transport for London has begun operations at the new train depot at Old Oak Common in a major delivery milestone for London’s new railway, the Elizabeth line. The depot will house and maintain up to 42 of the Elizabeth line’s 70 new trains built by Bombardier.
Old Oak Common depot has 33 stabling roads, and nine roads for the heavy maintenance of wheels, motors and other rail components. An on-site train wash facility will see that trains are deep-cleaned on a regular basis.
Old Oak Common depot has come into service as TfL prepares for the introduction of TfL Rail services in west London, from Paddington to Heathrow, on 20 May.
“Our new depot will not only allow us to introduce our new TfL Rail service from Paddington to Heathrow Airport this month, but it will also be home to the new Elizabeth line train fleet. Old Oak Common will be vital in helping us to maintain our 70 brand new trains over the years to come,” Howard Smith, Operations Director for TfL Rail said.
Over 30 per cent of TfL’s new maintenance facility will be powered by a hybrid renewable energy system which integrates ground source heating and cooling from a combination of energy piles and 150m deep bore holes, with three different types of thermal technologies creating an innovative system which will help to control the temperature of the main depot building.
Old Oak Common is the first rail depot in the UK to introduce these environmentally-friendly measures to this extent by fully integrating separate systems, which will help TfL to reduce its running costs and save over 500 tonnes of CO2 emissions each year compared to if the depot was built without these energy sources.
The Elizabeth line will offer transport services in London when it opens through central London this December. Starting 20 May, new Elizabeth line trains stabled at Old Oak Common will initially run from Paddington to Hayes & Harlington, with the Heathrow Connect trains continuing to operate to the airport. MTR Crossrail will operate the Elizabeth line on TfL’s behalf.
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