SIEMENS MOBILITY has announced that its new factory in Yorkshire will now be responsible for producing 80% of the train fleet currently being built for London Underground’s Piccadilly line, an increase from the original assembly plan of 30%.
The company is in the final stages of fitting out the facility in Goole, which is due to open in the spring and is part of the wider rail village where up to £200 million is being invested. The factory has assembly and commissioning halls, a train components servicing facility, a materials and logistics warehouse, and houses the Rail Accelerator and Innovation Solutions Hub for Enterprise (RAISE), establishing it as a centre of excellence for rail technology in the UK. Future rolling stock for the UK train market will also be assembled there.
The components facility, which services motors, gearboxes and HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) for Siemens UK train fleets, which makes up one quarter of the UK’s passenger trains, and the RAISE hub are already open.
The first of the new trains for the Piccadilly line – which are based on the Inspiro family of metro trains – has been undergoing extensive testing in Germany following its construction in Vienna. Once delivered to London later this year, Transport for London will carry out infrastructure testing and integration, before the trains start entering service in 2025.
The trains will be walk-through carriages fitted with air-conditioning and improved accessibility, offering about 10% greater capacity than the existing trains. They are also lighter, more energy efficient, and the semi-articulated design enables fewer bogies to be fitted on the longer 113-metre de
