When visiting our friends at Alstom a couple of months back, we were invited to take a look inside Train Zero.

Train Zero is based at Alstom’s Derby Litchurch Lane works, with it being pretty rare for people to take a look inside.

Train Zero is where Alstom checks all the software and systems before they are released to fully built trains on the test track and an eventual full release to trains on the national network.

All of the systems are recreated in virtual form, using hardware racks and software to simulate things like opening doors, emergency procedures and signalling.

Aventras are currently being tested inside Train Zero at the minute, along with trains from West Midlands Railway, c2c and more.

The main benefit to Train Zero is clearly that this allows engineers to test software updates and simulate faults before releasing them to passenger-carrying-trains.

What do you think of Train Zero? Let us know in the comments below! You can view our video here: