GERMANY: Go-Ahead Deutschland has selected the TMH International subsidiary of Transmashholding to maintain two fleets of electric multiple-units that it will operate in southern Bayern and Baden-Württemberg from December 2021.
In 2018 Go-Ahead Bayern was awarded contracts by Land railway agency BEG to operate two lots of regional services. The E-Netz Allgäu contract covers operation of the München – Memmingen – Lindau route for 12 years from December 2021, while Augsburger Netze Lot 1 covers the Ulm – Augsburg – München, Würzburg – Ansbach – Treuchtlingen – Donauwörth – Augsburg and Aalen – Nördlingen – Donauwörth routes for 12 years from December 2022.
Go-Ahead has ordered 78 trainsets for use on these contracts. Stadler is supplying 22 four-car Flirt 3 EMUs for E-Netz Allgäu, while Siemens Mobility is building 44 three-car Mireo single-deck EMUs and 12 five-car Desiro HC partly double-deck EMUs for the Augsburg routes.
Under the deal announced on December 1, TMHI will maintain all 78 trains at a purpose-built depot in Langweid bei Augsburg, which will service three or four EMUs each day. Go-Ahead has already received planning approval for construction of the facility, and has now transferred the site to TMHI; the depot is expected to become operational by mid-2022.
Zug-based TMHI has started to recruit a team of around 40 managers and technicians, and says it will lease temporary facilities at Augsburg pending completion of the new depot.
Entity in Charge of Maintenance
In line with the latest European Entity in Charge of Maintenance regulations, TMHI will provide light maintenance for the EMUs including wheelset reprofiling. It will also perform heavy and corrective maintenance, including regular overhauls of the main components.
To ensure maximum availability, two mobile teams will perform overnight servicing and minor repairs at various locations, while a 24/7 technical hotline will support Go Ahead staff. TMHI will also be responsible for the procurement of spare parts, depot management and maintaining the vehicle records.
‘TMH International is a well-established train maintenance company’, said the Go-Ahead Group’s Head of Fleet Stephen Head. ‘We are very pleased to have them as our partner and we are confident that they will do a great job in delivering the construction of the train maintenance facility as well as the maintenance of our trains.’
‘We have a long experience in services, both in life-cycle contracts and in fleet maintenance and repair’, explained TMH International’s Senior Vice-President Europe, Terence Watson. ‘As an industrial investor, we are committed to contribute to the economic growth of the Augsburg region, providing a substantial initial investment in the depot and highly skilled and stable jobs. Germany and particularly Bayern are proud of their long railway tradition and expertise, and we are confident that we will find the right competences here.’
