Having recently written about the solid prospects for Bombardier’s UK plant in Derby, I now want to focus in on the AVENTRA itself, a brand-new train whose early sales success already supports a healthy order book of some 2,225 vehicles that will sustain the plants future until at least the early 2020’s, with the potential for more work still to come.

Designed in Derby, specifically for the UK market, part of the AVENTRA’s obvious appeal to the Train Operating Companies (TOCs) that have already placed orders, including Crossrail (Elizabeth Line), London Overground, Greater Anglia and South Western Railway, lies in its flexibility, which is underpinned by a modular architecture that makes extensive use of sub-assemblies throughout the manufacturing process.

Several of these complex sub-assemblies, including the cab electrical control cabinets, drivers desk, and electrical harnesses are built on-site at Litchurch Lane by BTRoS, a subsidiary of Bombardier, yet with more than 2,500 purchased parts going in to each train, the AVENTRA supports a significant supply chain more broadly, with approximately 70 suppliers, of which 40% are UK firms.

Unfortunately, owing to non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) with Bombardier, the UK-based suppliers listed above that provide parts to the AVENTRA are generally unable to offer specific details as to exactly what they manufacture, which is a real shame, given that several of them are world-leaders in their respective fields, both in manufacturing and technology terms, although it is still possible to piece at least some of it together.

Perhaps the most interesting, and indeed British, of the various sub-assemblies that make up the final train are the drivers cabs. The front ends are composed of two main components; the cab structure and the front mask, both of which are built in Derby, with the former manufactured by Garrandale, better known for its specialist depot equipment, and the latter by Datum.

Steel cab structures are delivered by Garrandale to Datum’s 22,000 square feet Longbridge Lane facility, where they are joined to painted Glass Reinforced Plastic (GRP) front masks. Final sub-assembly is carried out by BTRoS, who also add the cab desks and back wall panels at this stage, with windscreens supplied by Romag from their 125,000 square feet plant in Consett, County Durham.

At the other end of each driving vehicle, the aluminium inter-end skins are manufactured by Superform at their Worcester facility. Inter-vehicle gangways come from Dellner, who supply their SGX (Segmented Gangway ConneXion) product, which is manufactured in Swadlincote, Derbyshire, whilst the related inter-vehicle connector system or ‘vehicle jumpers’ come from LPA.

Elsewhere, pantographs come from Brecknell Willis’ new purpose built factory in Chard, Somerset; brakes and brake control systems are manufactured by Knorr-Bremse at their UK headquarters in Melksham, Wiltshire, whilst Siemens build the train radios at their UK plant in Hebburn, South Tyneside. Axalta Coating Systems supplies the trains exterior paint, which arrives from their manufacturing site in Darlington, County Durham.

In terms of what doesn’t come from the UK, as discussed previously, the bogies are built by Bombardier in Siegen, Germany at their Bogie Technical Centre, yet components do come from the UK, whilst windows come from Lipik Glas in Croatia, which has been the case for some time with most Bombardier trains built in Derby, including the Electrostar and S-Stock.

Post-Brexit, however the Pound has fallen in value vs. other currencies, which makes importing components more expensive, and so it is in Bombardier’s best interest to further strengthen its UK supply chain. This is already taking place across the UK automotive industry, where manufacturers such as Nissan are reportedly looking to double the UK content of cars that roll off the Sunderland assembly line.

Given that we hear so much in the UK financial press about the strength of Germany’s Mittelstand of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), it is both frustrating and a real shame that NDAs prevent their UK peers really promoting their own expertise, as having looked at several of them, there are some great innovations to highlight and another strong story to tell around the UK’s rail renaissance.