Class 319 Cab Spot Cooling Case Study

Class 319 Cab Spot Cooling

The Project

Modern driving cabs include large areas of glass so can get uncomfortably hot during sunny periods, leading to fatigue in the driver.  While it is possible to install air conditioning systems retrospectively they have a number of drawbacks, being complex to install, expensive to run and maintain and unreliable in a railway environment.

A more cost effective alternative is cab spot cooling, a modern semiconductor based cooling system mounted in the roof area.  Air is recycled through a loop and is cooled by about 20% keeping a fresh environment for the crew.

In 2007, Porterbrook and First Capital Connect commissioned DeltaRail to install cab spot cooling on their fleet of 86 Class 319 EMU's.  A full turnkey project, DeltaRail managed everything from the conceptual design to installation and commissioning.

The project was completed an impressive six months ahead of schedule with installation of each unit completed, tested and commissioned in a single night.

The Benefits

The new cooling system provided a fresh, comfortable working environment for the driver.  Although not as effective as full air conditioning, semiconductor based systems such as this one, are more reliable and compact, as well as having lower installation, maintenance and running costs.