New 300,000 square metre rail maintenance depot opened in Milan

Pierre Cicion, Head of Services Middle East, Africa and Italy, Bombardier and Sebastiano Grasso, Group Managing Director, Business Services, Contship Italia at ribbon cutting ceremony

The new, state-of-the-art depot will support locomotives and rolling stock with rapid assistance and further enhance the growth of the Milan Logistical Business District.

“The Melzo depot will enable Bombardier to strengthen its services offering by providing rapid response to locomotives that need urgent support,” said Pierre Cicion, Head of Services Middle East, Africa and Italy, Bombardier Transportation. “The workshop is engineered to offer ‘pit-stops’, high-turnover, brief and frequent on-site operations. Bombardier estimates the site will be able to manage around 400 locomotive maintenance operations per year. This number can be further increased by taking over international operators which use in-house assistance abroad.”

The depot will offer standard services with preventive and corrective maintenance activities, with the goal of guaranteeing 24/7 service.

Melzo’s new 300,000 square metre intermodal terminal features 12km of rail track with four tracks matching international standards and measuring 750 metre , with another three tracks measuring 550 metre and 12 tracks used as junctions and for external parking.

“The Melzo, Liscate and Vignate areas near Milan are developing into a powerful logistics region able to support and add value to the nation’s manufacturing industry,” added Sebastiano Grasso, Group Managing Director, Business Services, Contship Italia. “The shared investment in Melzo depot with Bombardier has enhanced this intra-European and intercontinental crossroads with a powerful, rapid-reaction maintenance capability.

“This not only keeps trains rolling, but also lowers environmental impact by limiting the logistical reliance on freight trucking.”