Luke Taylor, Member of Parliament for Sutton and Cheam, and Liberal Democrat Frontbench Spokesperson for London, recently visited Siemens Mobility’s Three Bridges Depot in West Sussex.

During his visit, Luke was shown how Siemens carries out the maintenance and servicing of Thameslink’s 115-strong Class 700 fleet, which operates Thameslink services across London and Southeast England.

While meeting depot colleagues, engineers, and technicians responsible for maintaining the fleet, Luke learned about the specialist skills needed to maintain a modern railway, and how Siemens Mobility develops future talent by investing in apprenticeships and early careers programmes.

Three Bridges currently employs 15 apprentices working on Thameslink trains, and a total of 181 apprentices throughout the UK.

Discussions focused on the importance of reliable rail services, and how digital tools such as Railigent help to optimise the performance of the fleet by analysing data from the trains to develop a specific maintenance strategy.

It also provides information for technicians to carry out focused inspections and prevent potential issues from arising before they become a problem, such as for doors and HVAC units.

Govia Thameslink Railway has invested £3.6 million in a makeover of its Class 700 fleet at Three Bridges depot, including deep cleaning, polishing the exteriors, installing new interior wall vinyls, and repainting toilets.

Siemens has contracts worldwide as well as in the UK, and in June, the company secured a 30-year maintenance contract for 61 battery-powered trains in Germany.

“I am delighted Luke Taylor MP had the opportunity to see the incredible work our Three Bridges team does to keep the Thameslink fleet running reliably for the thousands of passengers who depend on it every day. It was fantastic to show Luke around the depot and demonstrate the digital tools like Railigent giving us valuable data from the train, which enable us to keep optimising performance for this fleet. It is so important that we continue to invest in our people and technology, as their skills and expertise will drive the innovation needed to keep our communities connected for the long term.

Lena Voorbach, Finance Director, Rolling Stock and Customer Services, Siemens Mobility UK & Ireland