Maintenance depots-can they ever be fault-free infrastructure?

摘要

The development and maintenance of the infrastructure of depots themselves have perhaps been low on a train operating company's priorities. This paper shows how important is the correct development of depots, and how crucial is the ongoingmaintenance of depots themselves in providing the quality of service that the train operators and their passengers want. The maintenance of depots is considered alongside other similar activities, in the public and private sector, from which lessons canbe learnt for better depot infrastructure maintenance in the future. The contractual and operational and control arrangements needed for best results and most reliable operation are explored, together with examples of the way these bring benefits.Possible future arrangements will also be explored.