UK: Steve McBride has been appointed Managing Director of Vivarail’s UK operations, with founder Adrian Shooter continuing as Chairman of the company which produces multiple-units by reusing the bodyshells and bogies of former London Underground trains.
‘Running Vivarail has been both one of the most challenging and yet one of the most enjoyable roles of my whole career’, Shooter said on August 3. ‘From a small start-up we have become firmly entrenched in delivering new technologies to help decarbonise the rail network.
‘Our specialisation in battery technology, including new traction systems and our patented Fast Charge, means we are now in a position to deliver trains able to travel circa 80 miles and recharge in 10 min. I am convinced this is a game-changer for the industry as we have proved it is possible to retraction existing stock — saving embedded carbon and providing a new way to electrify the network at minimal time and cost.’
McBride joined Vivarail three years ago as Production Director, having previously been Operations Director at Angel Trains.
‘Vivarail is, without doubt, set to become an ever more important player in the rail decarbonisation agenda, not just in the UK but across the globe’, he said. ‘We have already exported the UK’s first ever battery train to the USA, and working as part of the RDC family offers us many more opportunities for growth and success in the coming years.’
Vivarail has supplied trainsets to London Northwestern Railway, Transport for Wales and South Western Railway. In April a two-car unit was delivered to the Rockhill Trolley Museum in Pennsylvania for use by Vivarail shareholder Railroad Development Corp as a ‘Pop-Up Metro’ demonstrator for the US market.
