GERMANY: The Rail Service Centre where Siemens Mobility will maintain for 32 years the 82 Desiro HC electric multiple-units which it is supplying for Rhein-Ruhr Express services was officially inaugurated on September 6.
The depot on the site of the former Dortmund-Eving marshalling yard has 5·5 km of track, a six-track workshop building, a three-storey warehouse and staff facility, a gatehouse, outside storage areas and train washing facilities.
The workshop includes a high-performance 3D printer that can quickly produce plastic spare parts which would otherwise not be available on short notice or at low cost.
Siemens Mobility will be paid a fee based on meeting targets for the availability of the fleet. To facilitate predicative maintenance, the EMUs will continuously supply data from multiple sensors to the depot, with each trainset generating between one and four billion data points per year. Performance and diagnostic data will be shared with RRX operators Abellio and National Express.
Trains entering the depot will pass an automated diagnostic point where their wheels and axles will be automatically inspected using lasers, with the measurements directly entered into the data management system for evaluation.
The depot is designed so that all maintenance processes can be managed without using paperwork, with the staff being provided with work orders and other information via tablet computers.
