Member Article

Capital contract is just the ticket for Mechan

Sheffield manufacturer, Mechan, is enjoying a boost in sales after securing work worth more than one million pounds from landmark UK rail project, Thameslink.

The depot maintenance equipment specialist will be providing four bogie drops to two new facilities being constructed as part of this historic upgrade to London’s transport network.

Commissioned by Siemens Rail Systems UK, the first two bogie drops are under construction and will be installed by Mechan at the Hornsey depot in April 2014. Based in the London borough of Haringey, this three-road, 12-car maintenance facility will sit alongside the east coast mainline and is set to be completed in 2016.

A further two bogie drops will be delivered to Crawley’s Three Bridges depot in September. This entirely new facility is larger than its counterpart in Haringey, containing five roads, split across two sites on either side of the London to Brighton mainline.

In both locations, the bogie drops will be used to service the new Desiro City trains, entering service early in 2016. Mechan’s equipment is installed in a pit within the depot floor, enabling bogies and undercar modules to be removed or exchanged without lifting or splitting the carriages.

Richard Carr, Mechan’s managing director, said: “We have proved that our bogie drops are at the forefront of depot technology and that their build quality offers unrivalled reliability. Receiving such a significant new order from a valued repeat customer is hugely gratifying and we are pleased to be contributing to Thameslink, one of the most ambitious and comprehensive updates to the capital’s rail system in recent years.”

Prior to securing this contract, Mechan has supplied Siemens with five bogie drops in the past seven years, for depots in Southampton, Northampton, Manchester and Scotland. During this period, the firms have collaborated to modify the design, including a raised floor that covers the pit when the bogie has been removed, maximising workspace in maintenance facilities.

For further information about Mechan’s bogie drops and its wide range of depot maintenance equipment, telephone (0114) 257 0563 or visit www.mechan.co.uk.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Nina Sorby .