Our host Eddie Milligan explaining the power hook up . Irene Rabbitts

We were given some background history of this new depot which was built completely from scratch with various contracts awarded for different parts of the construction. Since operations here began, they have won a number of reliability awards both for the on-going reliability of the units maintained here as well as for improvements in this area – ie more miles per casualty. Eddie included some statistics in his overview of the SWT contract and the Desiro fleet, comprised of 127 ‘450’ 4 car units and 45 ‘444’ 5 car units with an overall average mileage of around 22,400,000. The High Capacity 450s are also maintained here. Northam is the main depot for the SWT Desiros but there are outstations at Strawberry Hill, Bournemouth, Fratton, Farnham and London Waterloo. Occasionally they can use Wimbledon for work on the overhead air-conditioning units and for pit tests.

Recruitment is a little different here at Northam with many of the staff coming from a wide variety of backgrounds rather than from an exclusively railway background, and there is no union representation. However, there is employee representation and plenty of liaison at different levels, and competence ensures that everyone of the 112 technicians can do any of the jobs required as necessary including driving the units within the confines of the depot. There are also incentives and training to enable them to progress through the different grades possible.

The main shed is 6415 sq metres with construction started in September 2001 with practical completion in January 2003, going live in September 2003 as already mentioned above and the depot as a whole can hold 22 4/5 car sets. Power supply is via a 750v DC substation. Regular maintenance has changed to every 16,000 miles from the 10,000 originally expected and from carrying out 7 exams per day down to 4. 'Wheel reprofiling is done using a modern under floor wheel lathe but wheelsets which have reached their minimum diameter are sent away for the fitting of new wheels. Externally there is stabling with facilities for the Controlled Emission Toilets (CETs) and a wash plant which is designed to cope with temperatures down to –5ºC. The water supply has to be drinkable even where it is not intended for drinking which ensures the quality. There have been a number of contract milestones relating to servicing the Desiro fleet and there have been some changes over the years since the depot first went live, for example the internal and external cleaning has now been outsourced to ISS and daily allocation of the trains to operate the diagrams has now been passed to the customer (SWT).

Northam depot from Gate 2 on Radcliffe Road . Irene Rabbitts

	Inside the shed with 444 021 and 450 027 showing just how clean and tidy it is . Irene Rabbitts

The targets for reliability and availability are very demanding but are achievable with the hard work that all the staff put in. Of particular annoyance are broken or damaged windows not least because of the cost - £850 to £900 each - but film on the glass helps to protect against scratching whether accidental or deliberate. The contracts are all commercially negotiated and Eddie illustrated the statistics on reliability and availability using graphs.

Maintenance policy is based upon unit replacement with faulty modules being taken off the unit and replaced which ensures that the units can be put back into service quickly, while each faulty unit is repaired. This is done in house or using local companies, whenever possible, as it takes much longer to send components back to the German manufacturer. Eddie talked about the benefits of working together and clear communication between all interested parties which, together with the rigorous checks and controls, ensures that they are able to achieve the high standards and targets set.

	Group photo - judging by the smiles a successful visit, and proving that it really is wheelchair accessible. Bob Ellison

This visit provided an interesting contrast with the recent visit to the SWT depot at Wimbledon (both third rail electric) and showed how much train maintenance and depot design has changed. Funnily enough Eddie used to work for John who was our host at Wimbledon. Eddie was an excellent host and provided a wealth of interesting and informative detail and was true to his word – this depot is indeed easily wheelchair accessible.

05/10/09