UK rail depot maintenance firm MTMS has been given the supportive task of ensuring some of the country’s most iconic trains remain clean, fast and reliable after it won a major contract with Hitachi Rail.
The firm, based in Swadincote, Derbyshire, has been chosen by Hitachi Rail to provide comprehensive and round-the-clock maintenance and servicing support at all of its Train Maintenance Centres (TMCs) which are home to the company’s Class 800 Inter City series.
The Class 800s comprise several fleets, including 65 trains which operate on the East Coast Mainline as well as 93 trains on the Great Western Mainline.
MTMS will provide equipment and support the maintenance of the depot infrastructure to keep the state-of-the-art trains operating at the highest levels of excellence and reliability.
This includes maintaining carriage washing facilities, the servicing spines and fuel arms – all of which are service critical service systems for Hitachi Rail.
MTMS will also provide 24/7 call out support for service critical equipment as part of an initial three-year deal, and has also already undertaken depot improvements such as the winterisation of servicing equipment and installation of footpaths across several Hitachi Rail TMCs.
Malcolm Prentice, chairman of MTMS, said: “After three years of building our partnership with Hitachi Rail Europe, the new contract is a big vote of confidence in our people and in the MTMS way of doing things.
“It shows that we’re now a market leader in providing the kind of depot services that are vital to train fleet owners and operators in ensuring the reliability and attractiveness of services to bring back passengers as the pandemic recedes.”
Sean Denington, head of facilities of Hitachi Rail, said: “MTMS is part of the great tradition of rail businesses based in the East Midlands and we’re delighted to be working with the company to help us in delivering excellence through our train fleet to operators, passengers and the communities on the routes that we serve.”
