A new £8.9 million wheel lathe named Tina improves train maintenance. It doubles wheel fixing ability at Allerton depot.
Engineers named the machine Tina. It doubles the depot’s wheel fixing ability. Tina replaces an older machine, which was named Charlotte.
They dug up about 1,600 tonnes of ground. Afterward, they used 184 tonnes of concrete to secure Tina.
Jack Commandeur, engineering director at Northern, said Tina is a great addition. Now, they fix wheels faster and won’t remove them from the train.
The new machine will save money. Trains will spend less time out of service, since the machine is for maintenance.
Commandeur thanked everyone involved, including Network Rail, his colleagues, and the suppliers.
Clinton Ralphs, who works for Network Rail and sponsors the project in the North West, is excited about Tina.
Ralphs said it’s wonderful that the new machine is working. It makes the wheel process much better at Allerton TrainCare Centre.
The Allerton team won a ‘Silver Spanner’ award in November. The award was for their work.
Northern is the second largest train company in the UK. They run almost 2,500 services each day to over 500 train stations in the north of England.
Robin Gisby, the chief executive operator at DFTO, commented on Tina, saying it shows good partnership. DFTO, operators, and Network Rail are working to improve things and want a reliable railway.
The engineers are learning to use Tina. Training happened in the last few weeks, so Tina will now be used regularly.