UK: The 3.5 km experimental loop has opened at the Long Marston Rail Innovation Centre.
The site can run both static and dynamic tests on rolling stock under 25 kV at speeds of up to 80 km/h. Before this, operators testing rolling stock in the UK had to use the running network or travel to test centres in mainland Europe.
Launch of the first electrified rail test loop in the UK. Source: Porterbrook
The loop also handles diesel, battery and hydrogen trains, and is set up to take the European Train Control System (ETCS) later on. Germany’s Siemens Mobility carried out all the electrification and signalling work.
The loop is one piece of a £75 mln (€86.8 mln) programme by leasing company Porterbrook to overhaul the Long Marston site, around 55 hectares, which it bought in 2021. The wider project also covers a depot, offices, training centres and access tracks.
