Ilford depot in east London, which is a large stabling and repair point for many Greater Anglia trains in between duties, has seen minor work undertaken at the depot which will improve the reliability of services and train cleaning.

The work undertaken at Ilford covers stripping, overhauling, repairing and reassembling commuter trains in the 16-line workshop, while the 23 lines outside act as sidings to hold the trains that are not in use between duties.

Work is undertaken at this depot 24/7, to ensure all the trains are ready for service when they are needed and that they are clean for the passengers.

The depot is also home to a train washing plant which cleans the outside of the coaches when needed.

However, one drawback of the washing plant was that until recently, if it required maintenance or repair, the whole overhead power system in the depot had to be switched off as it ran off the same electrical system.

This would block the depot, meaning no trains could move, causing disruption and delays.

Any maintenance to be undertaken on the train washing facility had to be planned well in advance and around the trains arriving and leaving the neighbouring sidings.

In February this year, work began on fitting an isolation switch on the overhead power lines through the carriage wash from the rest of the power lines across the site.

This means that any future maintenance needing to be carried out on the train wash can be carried out without affecting every other train moment around the depot.

“This is a small but significant piece of work that means the resilience of our crucial Ilford depot is improved.

It means the reliability, punctuality and cleanliness of our train services can remain high for our customers across the Greater Anglia network.”

Simone Bailey, Asset Management Director at Greater Anglia