Sheffield-based rail maintenance equipment specialist, Mechan, has installed the largest single system of lifting jacks in the UK at the Alstom Transport Traincare Centre in Longsight near Manchester.
The 44-jack system, which is the biggest ever produced by Mechan, will be used to service the new 11 car Alstom-built Pendolino trains being introduced on the West Coast Mainline.
Mechan saw off competition from Europe and China to secure the contract, which involved designing a completely new version of its Microlink jack control system, to accommodate such a large number of jacks.
The firm also had to manufacture a taller version of its standard jack to enable the system to operate within the practical constraints of the depot.
Richard Carr, Mechan’s managing director, said:
“This project marks a significant step forward for Microlink and consequentially the application of our jacks.
“It has taken seven months to develop software that will lift such a large network without losing the flexibility and synchronicity for which the system is renowned and we are very pleased with the results.”
