Foundation stone laid for Rhine-Ruhr-Express depot

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Image: Siemens.
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Officials have laid the cornerstone of a new service and maintenance depot for Germany’s Rhine-Ruhr-Express (RRX) fleet.

Work has now begun on the depot, which will maintain all 82 RRX trains, in Dortmund-Eving. Siemens said it expects test operations to begin in the middle of next year.

The depot in Dortmund-Eving will employ around 75 people and will maintain the fleet for a period of 32 years.

Transport authority Verkehrsverbunds Rhein-Ruhr (VRR) will lease the depot from Siemens until 2050. The 70,000-square-metre site includes a six-track maintenance shed, a train washing facility, an underfloor lathe and a wheelset diagnostic system.

Jochen Eickholt, chief executive of Siemens Mobility Division, explained the approach to predictive maintenance the depot will take.

“We use algorithms to analyse data delivered from the trains so we can fix malfunctions before they actually occur.

“This way, we can guarantee our customer VRR and all passengers nearly 99 per cent availability of our trains. We’re excited to be building this new depot in Dortmund.”

The new depot will be built on the site of a former marshalling yard at Dortmund-Eving and will be connected to the Lünen-Münster railway line.