SWINDON’S new Electrification Training Centre has been attracting international attention since its official opening and last week the team there hosted a high profile visit from a delegation of Indian officials.

The visitors were impressed with the skills and facilities on display and went away with ideas about how techniques used in Swindon could be implemented on rail and metro programmes back in India.

The delegation was visiting the centre to find out more about some of the concepts used in the pioneering Great Western Electrification Project, in particular the overhead line equipment being rolled out.

The delegation included Manuj Singhal, chief electrical engineer and Anand Kumar, deputy chief electrical engineer, from the Indian Railways Ministry.

They were given a hands on look at Swindon’s newest railway facility which was opened with great fanfare earlier this year.

The centre was built as part of Network Rail’s railway upgrade plan which they hope will provide passengers a bigger, better and more reliable railway.

Manuj Singhal, Head of Electrification for the Indian railway, said: “We were very keen to see how the rail systems work in England and how modifications to electrification were being made.

“The visit was very informative and we particularly learnt a lot about the engineering school and overhead line equipment which we hope to implement to projects in India.”

Network Rail’s Samantha Patterson, sponsor for electrification, said: “It was a great honour to show our Indian visitors the exciting new training centre.

“I am thrilled that they gained so much from the visit and we are pleased our railway upgrade plan has provided inspiration for their own projects in India.”

The Indian officials were joined on their tour by local Network Rail staff and representatives from Furrer and Frey UK, the company that produces the overhead line equipment used on the project.

The state-of-the-art centre, which cost £10 million, features equipment identical to that being used out on the ground by engineers.

By siting the training equipment on a section of track not connected to the main line, the engineers can learn how to install and maintain the equipment in a safe environment that is also a realistic representation of what can be found out on the ground.

As part of the electrification project, train operator GWR will take delivery of a brand new fleet of Intercity Express Trains which passengers will start to see in service from next year.

The new trains will cut the age of the GWR fleet by half.