Trelleborg to continue work to maintain the central line, building on more than two decades of partnership with Transport for London

After supplying the original trains in the early 1990s, Trelleborg’s industrial anti-vibration solutions operation has been selected to provide London Underground’s Central line with a suite of suspension products, to be fitted on over 100 Tube trains.

In the second overhaul since the construction of the original trains, Trelleborg has been chosen to supply its Metalastik® Chevron Springs and range of bushes, thanks to the exceptional service performance of the previous solution and the company’s long standing relationship with Transport for London (TfL).

Manufactured in the U.K. and supplied globally, Trelleborg’s Metalastik® Chevron Springs have already proven their reliability on metro applications around the world. A typical chevron spring has a linear spring rate but for this demanding application, a bespoke product with a rising spring rate was developed to provide better performance, especially when fully loaded. This resulted in a more controlled operation and longer service life. As part of Trelleborg’s commitment to sustainable manufacturing, materials from the removed springs are being recycled, also reducing the impact of its operations on the environment.

Rod Holroyd, Rail Global Market Manager, at Trelleborg’s industrial anti-vibration solutions operation, said: “We developed the original Chevron spring back in 1959, and it’s testament to our state of the art solutions and the business value they add that we’re still selected to supply projects such as this. Our products are developed around the idea of intelligent innovation: progress built on business needs, in this case, low maintenance and longevity.

“For our current project with TFL, we’ll supply exact replicas of the original design, proving that basing R&D on business requirements is a strategy that doesn’t age.”

Providing three modes of flexibility for axlebox primary suspensions, Trelleborg’s Metalastik® Chevron Springs give improved ride characteristics with the advantages of simplicity, long service life and low maintenance costs. Metalastik® Chevron Springs are operating worldwide in a diversity of service applications including light rail vehicles, metros, freight wagons, high speed passenger coaches and locomotives.