Long Marston: one year on
It was great to attend Rail Live 2022 at our Long Marston Rail Innovation Centre last week. The sun shone on the UK’s largest outdoor rail exhibition with 225 exhibitors and many thousands of attendees passing through the doors over the two days.
The event coincided with the one-year anniversary of Porterbrook taking over the 135-acre site.
We’ve invested over ￡3 million over the last year to modernise and enhance the facilities which include a 3.5km test track loop, high quality office and conference spaces, rolling stock storage and a training centre. A third of this investment has been with local businesses in Warwickshire.
Hundreds climbed on board HydroFLEX, the UK’s first hydrogen-ready passenger train. There was particular interest in the hydro chamber area, where the latest fuel cell technology combines green hydrogen with oxygen to power the vehicle. Porterbrook has invested ￡10 million in the train and 30 UK companies have contributed to its development.
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Many visitors travelled to Rail Live on the free HybridFLEX shuttle train between Honeybourne and Long Marston. They were able to experience Britain’s first 100mph capable battery-diesel hybrid train which is the result of a four-year partnership between Chiltern, Porterbrook and Rolls-Royce. It features a retrofitted Rolls-Royce MTU power pack that significantly cuts carbon emissions, saves fuel and reduces noise and air pollution.
Also showcased was the electric-diesel ROG Class 768 which has the traction capability to deliver express freight anywhere on the network. To create the Class 768, Porterbrook and ROG converted Class 319 electric units to also run on a diesel low-emission engine, giving more flexibility in routes by being able to switch between traction systems. Elsewhere Network Rail displayed one of several Porterbrook Class 153s which will shortly be re-introduced into service as an infrastructure monitoring train.
I was really encouraged by the positive comments from visitors about the improvements to Long Marston since we took over. That is due to the immense effort and work done by the Porterbrook team both on site and across the business. Many thanks to them. Above all, it was great to see so many industry colleagues and friends once again.
Chartered Engineer FIEAust CPEng NER APEC Engineer IntPE(Aus) Managing Director Bespoke Renovation and Refurbishment
2 年It is great to see Porterbrook at the forefront of developing technology and bringing on the local businesses too. The benefits of the investment are clear to see for all attending. Rail Live 2022 was a great success, despite concerns regarding Network Rail attendance with respect to the industrial action. The staff were excellent too. However, by way of a constructive critique, I do think that the event needs to work harder to ensure that it is felt to be genuinely focussed on rail folk and the industry if it is to avoid being seen as focussed as a revenue earner (pitch fees, on costs etc). I’d suggest that the number of live demonstrations should be raised and a little more seating as we all get older year on year! Even the best can improve!
Available | Operations Director | Engineering Director | Operations Director | Strategy Development | SC Cleared | Chartered Engineer | CEng FIMechE FCIPD APM | Railway | Defence | London
2 年It was an outstanding event, Porterbrook are making a real difference for the industry at Long Marston