Arrival of the Future of Rail Travel
NEW TRAINS UPDATE
10 December 2003
Translink has confirmed that the first of the 23 new trains is due to be delivered in Spring 2004 to commence the intensive commissioning process.
“The new trains represent an investment of more than £80 million,” said the company’s new Chief Executive, Keith Moffatt. “We are determined to ensure that the money is well spent and that the trains meet the very highest standards of safety, reliability and comfort. In fact, when the trains begin to arrive in Spring 2004 they will be the first to meet the latest European safety standards.”
Explaining the process behind the build and delivery of the trains, Mr Moffatt said that attention to detail was key for Translink’s engineers who are closely monitoring the production of the trains in Spain.
“The development of these trains is a huge project; being custom built from individually designed plans their construction is highly complex. The finer details, for example, are the product of extensive consultations with the public and various representative groups. We have also had to give consideration to the impact the new trains will make on existing infrastructure such as the work to lengthen platforms and canopies.”
He continued; “We have taken the opportunity during the extensive design period to ensure the new trains and our passengers benefit from the latest technical innovations, resulting in a smoother ride and quieter rail travel.”
Each train will be subjected to an extensive period of commissioning before they enter into passenger service. The trains will undergo intensive testing of all the on-board systems and complete a rigorous acceptance process. Each train will have to complete 2000 miles of fault free running, which is the equivalent of 10 return trips to Dublin. During this period, staff will also receive extensive training in the operation of the trains.
Mr Moffatt, who took the reins as Chief Executive recently, praised staff for their diligence and dedication and also outlined his ideas for the future of Northern Ireland’s public transport system.
“The new trains mark a further significant step in the renaissance of rail travel in Northern Ireland and indeed for public transport in general. The new trains form one aspect of the total project aimed at improving the popularity of travelling by train and to this end we have set up a New Rail Service Implementation Team to ensure that Northern Ireland passengers will enjoy a top quality, brand new service. The team will look at all aspects of the rail operation from ‘new look’ timetables to customer service delivery. We aim to transform the company, in partnership with our staff and passengers, modernising the entire transport network and thereby attracting drivers from their cars and clearly the new trains will go some way to achieving this.
Our plans for delivering a new rail service for Northern Ireland are compatible with the vision of the Regional Transportation Strategy which is potentially one of the most significant steps forward in the provision of public transport and its importance cannot be underestimated, and we at Translink intend to play our part to the full.”
-ENDS-
For more information members of the media may contact Translink's Press and PR Officer; Sarah Stanczyk on 028 90 899 455. For all other enquiries please call 028 90 66 66 30.
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