Upgraded depot for Southeastern trains at Slade Green

Southeastern’s maintenance depot at Slade Green has completed a multi-million pound upgrade, which included a new wheel lathe, carriage wash, and extended overhead gantry.

The depot, which employs 180 people locally, currently manages five different types of train. However, Southeastern is currently seeking suppliers for a new fleet that could replace many of the variants with a single fleet.

Supporting the maintenance of the train fleet, the Network Rail and Southeastern Alliance has worked together to install a new wheel lathe (machinery which reprofiles train wheels giving passengers a smoother ride), as well as a new carriage wash and extended overhead gantry and lifting cranes that have recently been introduced for the Class 707 City Beam trains, which has been supported by Siemens Mobility.

Train wheels experience daily wear and tear that can result in small ‘flat’ spots on the wheels, particularly during the autumn leaf-fall season. The two moveable cutting heads on the lathe can re-profile wheels with precision, measuring the size of each one and then accurately calculating how much metal to cut away. The wheel is then re-profiled, and the roundness is restored.

The lathe finishes its work by measuring the train wheels to ensure their quality before the train returns to service – with the benefit being that trains are back in service more quickly for passengers, who experience a smoother ride and fewer cancellations as a result.

Mark Johnson, Southeastern’s Engineering Director said: “Our railway is getting busier, and at Southeastern we’re seeing record post-pandemic passenger numbers, with over 400k daily entries and exits being recorded at our London terminals.

“This is encouraging news, and we’re working hard to support this growth by improving performance and reducing subsidy.

“We’re very proud of the great work that is done at Slade Green with Siemens and the wider team to keep our trains in the best possible condition for customer service, with recent improvements we’ve made in partnership with Network Rail ensuring that we have the most cost-effective and efficient maintenance regime, helping us also to prepare for any potential new or cascaded fleet in the coming years.”

The depot will also mark its 125th anniversary in 2025, having opened on 1st July 1900. The total cost of the building the depot and associated facilities was eventually £74.5K, and in scale it was only second to Stewarts Lane, able to service 100 steam locomotives.