A Midlands rail maintenance firm has won the contract to handle the improvement works on behalf of Southeastern Railway at two of the country’s busiest train depots.
MTMS, based in Swadlincote, has been appointed to carry out the Ashford and Ramsgate Improvement Works, a £944,000 project which will take place over the next six months.
The firm already looks after the planned preventative maintenance (PPM) at the depots, but won the extra work via a competitive tender process.
The contract includes deep cleaning, replacing components and removing water storage tanks for the Stage 1 and 2 carriage wash machines (CWMs) at Ashford Depot and the new CWM assets at Ramsgate Depot.
It will also entail comprehensive replacement of tanking hoses and suction pipework, removing brushes and replacing remote control panels for the depots’ Controlled Emission Toilet (CET) systems.
The work is designed to ensure high-performance turnaround times for Southeastern’s fleet, which includes the Class 395 Javelin, the UK’s fastest train, which is based at Ashford and serves London St Pancras and destinations along the Kent coast.
Ramsgate, meanwhile, maintains Class 375, 377, 465 and 466s, which operate across the wider network, connecting to London Victoria, Charing Cross and Cannon Street as well as Dover, Folkestone, Margate and Canterbury.
MTMS now maintains well over half of the UK’s rail depots and Matt Forst, the firm’s managing director, said it is proud to extend the work it undertakes on behalf of Southeastern.
He added: “A pristine fleet is crucial to the everyday passenger experience and achieving that relies on ensuring that these unseen and unheralded pieces of equipment are maintained properly back at the depot.
“This contract is a huge endorsement of the quality and reliability of the service that we provide and we are very pleased to have been awarded the work.”
Image credit: MTMS
