Bombardier Transportation’s Central Rivers depot in the Midlands has joined forces with cleaning chemical manufacturer Arrow Solutions.
Arrow will introduce a new product to operations, and has just completed the first deep clean of the entire fleet of 57 CrossCountry Voyager trains. Each made up of 4 or 5 carriages, they were all subjected to a 20-hour exterior bodyside clean with Thickened Oxalwash, removing iron and rust deposits that aren’t normally eliminated with daily cleaning solutions.
This change has resulted in significantly cleaner trains, helping improve the passenger experience and boost the CrossCountry brand in the process.
Colin Dunn, Train Presentation Manager at Bombardier Central Rivers, explained: “I believe the results speak for themselves – you only have to see the difference in the train after we have applied Thickened Oxalwash.
“It not only gives the train a much cleaner finish, but has also brought hard to clean areas back to a much more acceptable appearance. This includes the door buttons, steps, sole bar and vestibule ends… these are notoriously difficult to clean, but this Arrow product offers the solution.
“The staff are proud of the finish they have achieved and we can monitor how long the train maintains its appearance. Again, we can see the improvements have been significant and they are easier to reclean after this process.”
Arrow first held discussions with Bombardier about an advanced exterior cleaner in 2013, following the successful introduction of Ecowash Autoshine in their wash plant. There was a requirement from CrossCountry to look at an alternative deep clean solution, so the Leicestershire-based cleaning and maintenance specialist spent time understanding the challenges faced by Bombardier and the impact these had on the final ‘look’ of the fleet.
Jon Williams, Fleet & Contract Manager (Voyagers) for CrossCountry, commented: “External cleanliness of the train is a critical aspect of creating a positive first impression for our customers. The Oxalwash programme has lifted the overall presentation of the Voyager fleet with significant improvement in the appearance of harder to clean areas and removal of ingrained dirt along the bodyside.”
