William Cook Rail commissions new bogie overhaul workshop

The company is already well known in the railway industry as the world’s leading designer and manufacturer of complex cast-steel components for trains.

It supplies these safety-critical components to train builders worldwide including Alstom, Bombardier and Siemens.

Increasingly, though, UK revenues come from supporting in-service trains rather than supplying components for new ones. Its biggest UK customer is London Underground.

The bogie overhaul workshop is a natural extension of the company’s existing coupler workshop, supporting rolling stock owners and operators with a wide range of heavy overhaul services.

The facility can undertake cleaning, shot blasting, non-destructive testing, repair welding, component replacement, painting and rebuild work for bogies.

These services are complemented by state-of-the-art machining centres capable of accommodating complete bogie frames after repair.

The investment has created a handful of jobs, including the recruitment of a new workshop manager highly experienced in bogie overhaul work.

Mr William Cook, director, said: “The new bogie overhaul workshop is only one part of an ongoing, multi-million pound investment plan for our Leeds site.

“It will enable the continued expansion of our UK heavy overhaul services and position us well to benefit from new government spending on rail in the North of England.”

Last year, the William Cook Rail achieved the rail industry’s ‘gold-standard’ IRIS and RISAS approvals, and won Transport for London’s SME Supplier of the Year award.