SWEDISH state operator SJ reports that bringing maintenance of its X40 EMUs and X55 express trains in-house has been successful, as it aims to accelerate innovation and development in this field.
Until February 1 maintenance of SJ’s double-deck X40 EMUs, built by Alstom, and X55 trainsets supplied by Bombardier was undertaken by Mantena, formerly the rolling stock maintenance division of Norwegian State Railways (NSB) and now owned by Norway’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries.
Mantena employed 100 personnel at its Swedish sites in Haglund and Västerås, who have now transferred to SJ.
“We can state that the transition has gone well and it feels good that we can now welcome our new colleagues to SJ,” says Mrs Elisabeth Casenberg, EMU fleet director at SJ.
SJ believes that it is becoming increasingly important to accelerate innovation and the application of digital technology in rolling stock maintenance. Being closer to the business and having a greater knowledge of workshop production processes is an important prerequisite for this.
The X40 and X55 fleets are approaching a major mid-life upgrade, during which “extensive digitisation” of vehicles and maintenance will take place, according to SJ.
“The fact that we carry out the maintenance ourselves also creates greater opportunities to test new ways of working, at the same time as it becomes easier to get the full effect of investment,” Casenberg says.
