UK: An intermediate car from Alstom’s Pégase AGV demonstrator arrived at the National College for High Speed Rail campus in Doncaster in early December, having been transported more than 1 000 km from the supplier’s La Rochelle factory in France. Built in 2007, the car previously formed part of Alstom’s seven-car AGV demonstrator and was extensively tested on French and Italian high speed lines at speeds of more than 360 km/h.

The vehicle will be used to support teaching and learning in NCHSR’s High Speed Rail & Infrastructure and Rail Engineering courses. Specific topics include rolling stock design, power systems and systems engineering. It will be used to support practical sessions in aluminium alloy construction, articulated vehicle design, suspended transformers and permanent magnet asynchronous motors. NCHSR intends to make a number of modifications to the vehicle, including installation of an onboard data network and passenger information systems.

‘The arrival of the Pégase carriage, which has been kindly donated by Alstom, is another great boost for our unique training offer, which combines learning at the College with hands-on experience’, said Clair Mowbray, Chief Executive of NCHSR. ‘With this kind of support our learners can put the skills they gain into practice right from the start, ensuring the next generation of talent is ready for the future of high speed rail in the UK.’