Neville Hill Train Care Depot is situated east of Leeds and is leased by East Midlands Trains and sub-leased by Northern Rail. The depot maintains and services Northern’s East fleet, providing multiple unit trains for services dealing with most of Yorkshire, including the major traffic hubs of Leeds, Sheffield and Doncaster.
As guests of Northern Rail, we were welcomed by their Production Manager, who gave a short briefing on the history of the depot and its current activities, before being taken on a tour of the facility, first viewing the workshop where major refurbishment was taking place to units in classes 144, 153, 155, and 158. Next door was a workshop occupied by Siemens, who maintain the 333 class electric multiple units for Northern. As well as the maintenance, the group were shown the work being undertaken by Network Rail to install a pit to accommodate a wheel and equipment drop, which will speed up gear box exchanges and the handling of the heavy and bulky underfloor equipment.
On leaving the workshop and having a quick team photograph before the light faded, the next port of call was the servicing shed, where examinations, minor maintenance and cleaning take place each night (and to a lesser extent, during the day.) To improve efficiency and provide a better working environment, Northern had undertaken a lot of refurbishment work, giving an impressive appearance.
The visitors were then invited to see the East Midlands Trains facility on the same site, where HST sets and a few diesel multiple units were undergoing overhaul. The tour was then rounded off with an inspection of the wheel lathe, where wheels can be reprofiled whilst still in-situ under the vehicle.
The IRO’s North East Area Council would like to thank Phil Thickett for organising the day and the Production Managers and staff for making the visit both informative and enjoyable.