Zonegreen supports Botanic Gardens depot upgrade | Yorkshire …

Zonegreen is supplying Hull's Botanic Gardens depot (Image credit: Zonegreen)

Sheffield-based rail safety specialist Zonegreen has been appointed to support the upgrade of Hull's Botanic Gardens depot.

The company's flagship Depot Personnel Protection System (DPPS) is being installed to improve the working environment, as part of Northern Trains' multimillion-pound investment in the facility.

Employee numbers have increased to expand the maintenance and servicing capacity at Botanic Gardens and improve the reliability of services for passengers. Northern's class 170 trains will be housed at the facility, along with four engineering teams responsible for their upkeep and repair.

Working in partnership with Northern Rail Infrastructure Team and principal designer and contractor RTS Infrastructure, Zonegreen has equipped the facility's two-road maintenance shed, protected previously by manual derailers, with DPPS.

The system uses Network Rail-approved powered derailers, combined with RFID-controlled road end panels, to create safe zones in which staff can work and manage the movement of vehicles efficiently.

Christian Fletcher, Zonegreen's head of engineering, said: "Northern has committed to continuously improving the working environment at Botanic Gardens and DPPS will play a key role in ensuring the effectiveness of the teams working there.

"Our technology was installed with minimum disruption to operations and is now moving Hull's largest and oldest surviving rail depot into a new era, eliminating the margin for human error and prioritising staff safety."