Rolling
stock
leasing
company


Porterbrook
has
announced
plans
to
electrify
the
Long
Marston
test
track
in
Warwickshire.
Porterbrook
took
over
operations
at
Long
Marston
in
2021
and
completed
the
purchase
in
March
this
year.

Porterbrook
said
its
latest
upgrade
would
take
its
total
investment
in
Long
Marston,
which
has
3.5km
of
track,
to
more
than
£75
million
since
2021.
The
electrification
should
be
ready
for
use
next
year.

The
site
has
been
used
to
store
rolling
stock
for
many
years,
and
it
was
where
the
first
Vivarail
trains
were
displayed
under
test
in
2015,
having
been
converted
from
redundant
London
Underground
D78
units.
Vivarail
has
since
ceased
to
exist,
but
some
of
its
battery
units
have
been
acquired
by
GWR
for
testing
on
the
Greenford
branch
in
west
London.

The
test
site
upgrade
will
involve
the
installation
of
25kV
overhead,
but
Porterbrook
told
Railnews
it
has
no
plans
to
include
conductor
rails.
Long
Marston
will
also
offer
ETCS
digital
signalling
and
be
compatible
with
other
forms
of
traction,
including
hydrogen,
battery
and
diesel.
The
maximum
line
speed
will
be
50mph
(80km/h).

Porterbrook
CEO
Mary
Grant
said:
‘With
the
future
of
Long
Marston
now
confirmed
we’ve
wasted
no
time
starting
the
next
phase
of
the
site
improvements
to
reinforce
our
commitment
to
being
a
long-term
partner
for
the
rail
industry.

‘Substantial
replacement
of
life-expired
vehicles
is
needed
over
the
next
decade,
and
the
track
upgrades
mean
that
we
can
deliver
the
best
level
of
service
with
our
manufacturing
partners
for
new
rolling
stock
entering
service.’

Porterbrook
has
already
been
improving
Long
Marston
over
the
past
three
years,
including
improved
roads,
enhanced
training
services,
refurbished
offices
and
the
addition
of
a
£3
million
Asset
Management
Facility.