Alstom transport gets record jack system from Mechan 16 April 2012

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, at 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 managing director Richard Carr says the company designed a new version of its Microlink jack control system, and manufactured a taller version of its standard jack to enable the system to operate at the depot.

"This project marks a significant step forward for Microlink and the application of our jacks," comments Carr.

"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," he adds.

The Microlink jack control system enables a network of jacks to be operated from anywhere in the chain, via a single cable. This latest phase of development has increased the system's capacity and seen the addition of a touch screen panel that provides the user with constant feedback during the maintenance process.

"The brief for this project was very specific and a number of factors had to be taken into account," states Dave Walton, Alstom's senior site services manager, "not least the size of the system required and the depot layout.

"Mechan provided us with a very competitive solution that offered the right balance of engineering expertise and progressive technology."

Brian Tinham

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Mechan Controls Ltd

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