Irish Rail has awarded LH Group Services (part of Wabtec Faiveley UK) a contract for the full turnkey maintenance programme of 256 MTU R83 powerpacks fitted to its Class 22000 fleet.
The contract is worth circa €45m and begins in January 2021, running for a five-year period.
LH Group Services is the long-term incumbent of this maintenance programme and has worked closely with Irish Rail for over ten years. During this time, the company has developed a unique service offering by working collaboratively with Irish Rail. This covers all levels of maintenance with a resident maintenance and service engineering team being based at the Portlaoise Depot.
Working closely with the customer throughout this time has improved the product beyond the OEM design to enhance its reliability. It is this commitment, no matter what the issue, that has built up a strong relationship between the two organisations.
The initial major contract was signed in July 2013 and was for five years with an option for a further two-year extension which was taken up by Irish Rail.
The LH Group Services team looks forward to further product and service enhancements during the new contract which will cement the existing relationship. An example of this will be the supporting of the maintenance on new units Irish Rail will be introducing during the contract period.
Scott Mackay, Managing Director – LH Group Services comments: “We were aware there was significant competition for this contract and, as such, the overall bid by LH Group Services was both competitive and well-structured in order to meet the customer’s needs. Good relationships at all levels pay dividends to both sides and we look forward to continuing with the success further”.
Andy Derbyshire, Group Managing Director – Wabtec Faiveley UK comments “It is a fantastic opportunity for Wabtec Faiveley UK and our LH Group Services business. We have a longestablished relationship with Irish Rail and it is great news that we will be continuing this collaboration”.
Peter Smyth, Chief Mechanical Engineer – Irish Rail comments “Irish Rail are absolutely delighted to enter into a new long term support agreement with LH Group Services for our fleet of diesel powerpacks and we are confident that the embedded relationship will help build on the already excellent support, product innovation and delivery of customer focused solutions. It is great news that LH Group Services will remain a significant employer of highly skilled technical staff in Ireland and the UK”.
News Release
Sarah Stant, Group Marketing Manager,
Wabtec Faiveley UK, Graycar Business Park, Burton on Trent Staffordshire DE13 8EN E-mail: sstant@wabtec.com
Phone: +44 (0) 1283 722600
Website: www.wabtec.com
