HomeRail NewsBrush-up for Piccadilly

Brush-up for Piccadilly

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Traction motors from Piccadilly line trains are to be refurbished in Loughborough after London Underground confirmed a £6.5 million deal with the historic works.

The contract has been awarded to Brush Traction, which has been owned by Wabtec since 2011, following an open tendering process. It will continue an established relationship between the works and London Underground.

Wabtec’s UK managing director, Chris Weatherall, described it as the largest traction motor refurbishment contract the company has received from Transport for London (TfL) in recent years.

LT130 motors from the existing Piccadilly line fleet will be transported from Cockfosters depot in London to Loughborough to be repaired, cleaned and painted. The refurbishment will ensure a reliable service on the existing stock ahead of the introduction of New Tube for London trains around 2022.

The contract, which will run for three years with an optional two-year extension, was formally awarded by London Underground managing director Nick Brown in Loughborough on 16 October. He presented a copy of the contract to Chris Weatherall alongside the Secretary of State for Education, and Loughborough MP, Nicky Morgan.

Brush

Although it won’t directly create any new jobs, the contract will sustain the existing 376-strong workforce in Loughborough and create a platform for future growth.

Says Nick Brown, ‘Brush Traction is playing an important role in the modernisation of London’s transport network and is helping us to meet the unprecedented demand created by the city’s success and rapid population growth.

‘Suppliers like them keep London working and growing and help us to support the national economy. We have invested more than £865 million with suppliers in the Midlands over the past year and we are always interested in hearing from other suppliers across the UK to see how they could work with us.’

Says Chris Weatherall, ‘Wabtec companies have supported TfL for many years and we look forward to continuing our long association with this key customer for many years to come.’

TfL says that regional suppliers account for 60 per cent of its expenditure. In the Midlands alone, 19,500 jobs are supported by business from TfL.

1 COMMENT

  1. 2022 will see brand new London Underground tube stocks being built for the Bakerloo and Piccadilly lines which their current rolling stocks are ageing and do need to be replaced followed on by Central and Waterloo & City lines to also get brand new rolling stocks and Northern and Jubilee lines to get brand new tube trains in the 2030’s.

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