UAE: FirstClass Safety & Control has supplied and installed two bespoke Depot Protection Systems at Etihad Rail’s largest maintenance facility.
Al-Faya depot undertakes the light maintenance and heavy overhaul of 38 Progress Rail EMD freight locomotives and 21 CRRC Qingdao Sifang push-pull trainsets, and in the future will also handle CAF 200 km/h push-pull trainsets.
The SIL2 depot protection systems include site-wide digital RFID logging, a real-time data interface with Etihad Rail’s central systems, interlocks with cranes, fire alarms, doors and fume extraction systems, enhanced IP and thermal resistant components. These must withstand harsh all year-round ambient conditions including temperatures above 50°C, with provision for future expansion. FirstClass has a 24/7 support and maintenance contract.
‘We are proud to be exporting our bespoke technological products from our UK-based design and manufacturing facility, with our internal Rail Projects team from the UK installing, commissioning and servicing in the MENA region’, said FirstClass director Mark Meyrick.
‘As an SME, delivering overseas tasks can be challenging, yet the team continues to deliver well within project timescales, enhancing each system project after project.’
