Bedford Cauldwell Walk depot
| File:CauldwellTrainMaintenanceDepot.JPG
Depot main building and road entrance (2011)
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| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Location | Bedford, United Kingdom |
| Owner | Govia Thameslink Railway |
| Depot Code | BF |
| Type | EMU |
| Opened | 2004 |
| Details | |
| Post-grouping | British Railways |
Bedford Cauldwell Walk depot,[note 1] is an electric multiple unit maintenance depot located on the Midland Main Line in the Cauldwell district of Bedford.
A four road maintenance depot opened in 2004 to service trains, and was extended to a fifth road in 2009.
Contents
Location
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Bedford Caudwell depot is located in the Cauldwell area of Bedford, east of the Midland Main Line (MML) at Cauldwell walk, and south of Bedford railway station and the River Great Ouse. A rail connection with the MML is made south of the depot.[1]
The facility's shed code is BF.[2]
History
The site has been historically undeveloped for housing or industrial buildings; from the during the second half of the 19th century a tramway (siding) running from the London to Bedford line accessed the site; the site remained occupied by rail sidings throughout the 20th century.[3]
In the early 2000s the construction of phase 2 of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link required a 25-week closure of the railway line between King's Cross railway station and Kentish Town railway station; this blockade would prevent easy access of trains of the London-Bedford line to their traditional servicing facilities at Selhurst depot in south London. As a result, Railtrack calculated it would be cost effective to construct a depot at Bedford to service the trains, and for future use, including as a depot for the Thameslink 2000 expansion. The sidings at Bedford station were to be retained for storing trains.[4]
Fitzpatrick contractors Ltd. was given a £11million contact to build a four road train shed for the Class 319 EMUs, which in addition to the construction of the main train service and maintenance building included stabling for 22 four car trains, a train wash, and controlled emission toilet servicing.[5] The main building was 120 by 25 m (394 by 82 ft).[6][note 2] The depot opened 3 November 2004.[7] The initial allocation was 43 Class 319s.[8]
In 2006 First Capital Connect (FCC) acquired the Thameslink franchise and the depot's maintenance allocation was increased to include all FCC's 76 four car Class 319s.[9][note 3]
In 2009 the depot's allocation increased to 82 Class 319s.[10] As part of the Thameslink programme another 4 class 319 trains were added, and the depot was extended to five lanes for the addition of a further 23 four car Class 377 EMU trains to the depot's responsibilities.[11] VolkerFitzpatrick was awarded the main contract for the £2.2 million extension.[12] The depot extension was opened in January 2009.[13]
The delivery of the class 377 trains was delayed by a year, and the initial Class 377/5 was returned to the manufacturer due to the number of faults found, resulting in a further delay to introduction of the fleet.[14]
References
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- ↑ Ordance Survey. 1:25000. c.2010
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Ordnance Survey. 1:10560, 1902, 1927, 1938, 1960; 1:10000, 1972, 1980, 1987-9
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- ↑ 8.0 8.1 The Rail Engineer, April 2009, Most suitable site
- ↑ Revamped depot ready for new fleet of trains (Jan. 2009), Note 3
- ↑ Revamped depot ready for new fleet of trains (Jan. 2009), Note 4
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ The Rail Engineer, April 2009, The new extension
- ↑ Revamped depot ready for new fleet of trains (Jan. 2009)
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