Greater Anglia has doubled the reliability of its Class 317 electric multiple unit fleet on the West Anglia route through Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire and Essex.

The company challenged engineers at Ilford depot to improve reliability beyond the figure of 8,000 miles per failure. The trains are now averaging 16,000 miles between faults, peaking at 20,000 miles between failures in February.

The improvement has taken 15 months, and Ilford’s engineers are seeking to average 20,000 miles between failures on a consistent basis. The most common faults that cause delays or cancellations are with doors and traction motors.

“Our team set about researching the most commonly occurring faults. Following a sustained focus on finding permanent solutions to them, we have seen a month on month improvement in the trains’ performance,” said GA Engineering Director Colin Dobson. 

“The team has therefore already hit its target of doubling the number of miles between faults, for the last three months, consecutively.”

 

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Author: Andy Roden
Contributing Writer, RAIL

Andrew joined RAIL in 2000 as a news and features writer. He has written four books, covered the UK and international rail industries, and led 2005’s successful campaign to save the ‘Night Riviera’ sleeper train. He is also a regular commentator on rail matters on television and radio for RAIL.