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Benefits Of Interfleet Project Are Clear To See For Porterbrook

International rail consultancy, Interfleet Technology, has enabled its client Porterbrook to update its passenger information systems in accordance with disability regulations.

Interfleet, which already provides extensive rolling stock, engineering and maintenance consultancy support for leasing company Porterbrook, offered to assist when the company was presented with a deadline to increase the text height on the displays of its existing Class 458 passenger information systems to a height greater than 35mm – a height deemed suitable for visually impaired passengers under the Rail Vehicle Accessibility Regulations (RVAR).

Interfleet Account Manager, Chris Baker and Principal Consultant of its rail systems and strategy team, Steve Radford, set about considering the options available to Porterbrook to enable it to continue to lease its fleet of Class 458 Electric Multiple Units (EMUs) – which would potentially have to be decommissioned if a workable solution could not be found.

After considering a number of options for Porterbrook, which included sourcing replacement compliant units for each of the carriages, Interfleet’s team commissioned the design of custom electronics to increase the size of the LED matrix inside the displays, increasing the size of the text to 40mm and change the colour from red to regulation-compliant yellow. Combined with carefully selected filtering to obtain a very high-contrast ratio and hence highly readable display, these modifications enabled Porterbrook to simply adapt the infrastructure of the unit to make it compliant, rather than totally replacing it. 

Following the commissioning and developing of the custom electronics, Interfleet’s team tested the new units and passed them over to its rolling stock team to actually integrate the new systems into the carriages.

“This was a critical project for our client, as the fleet could have been decommissioned if a cost effective solution had not been found, as the carriages would not have been compliant with RVAR regulations,” explains Chris Baker of Interfleet.

“The message here is rail operators are best advised to consider all options before decommissioning or contemplating expensive refits - as this project proves.”

In delivery of this modification, Interfleet initially undertook a pilot installation for one display, following which a further eight 4-car Class 458 units (encompassing 80 displays) were modified, with this work being successfully delivered within very tight timescales to meet operational requirements. Following completion of these 8 units, Interfleet has now secured a contract to modify the remaining 22 units of Porterbrook’s Class 458 fleet, some 120 vehicles and 220 displays in total. Interfleet is also seeking opportunities to apply the principles of this project to other UK rail vehicles.

Ends.

About Interfleet Technology:

• Interfleet Technology is an international consultancy firm working in all sectors of the rail industry including traction and rolling stock, railway systems and infrastructure and business solutions.

• With offices in Denmark, Germany, Sweden, Norway, the UK, Australia, New Zealand and the USA, Interfleet now has over 450 employees delivering assignments worldwide. 

About Porterbrook Leasing
Porterbrook Leasing Company Limited ("Porterbrook") is a leading player in the rail leasing market.
Porterbrook has a rolling stock fleet of over 5,500 vehicles on lease or on order, which includes about 4,000 passenger vehicles. These are supplied under operating leases to 16 of the 21 Train Operating Companies (TOCs) within the UK. The company also provides ongoing train maintenance services.
Porterbrook has been highly successful in winning new train orders since privatisation, investing in over 1,500 new passenger vehicles and over 1,200 new freight locomotives and wagons, and in the refurbishment of much of its in-fleet equipment. In April 2000, the Porterbrook group of companies was acquired by Abbey National (“Abbey”).

For further information or images please contact Emma Tagg/Trevor Palmer at GBCS PR Limited on 0115 948 6901 or emma@gbcspr.com/ trevor@gbcspr.com