National Express West Midlands (NXWM) has moved its Perry Barr operation in north Birmingham into a new depot that the operator says has the capacity to “house a full fleet of electric buses and their chargers.”
The new base is close to NXWM’s 90-year-old former garage in Perry Barr. It opened on 10 December, when buses returned there after service having run out of the previous depot that morning, and forms part of a wider regeneration of the area.
Around 170 buses and 450 staff are based at Perry Barr. It serves more than 20 routes. The new depot covers 6.5 acres and it comes with a cafe, rest areas, a quiet space, shower facilities and training rooms. It has 12 maintenance bays, three fuel bays, three bus washes and a chassis wash.
Energy efficiency and environmental friendliness are key to the design, NXWM says. To that end, the new premises include:
- 150 solar panels
- Heating via a hybrid system including heat pumps, electric overhead radiant panels and variable refrigerant flow
- A 432m2 ‘green roof’, benefiting air quality and providing wildlife habitats
- A green wall on acoustic panelling, also to benefit air quality and to reduce noise
- A wildlife garden
- Self-contained water recycling for the three bus washes
- Rainwater harvesting for toilets.
Speaking about the new depot, NXWM Managing Director David Bradford says: “From the very start of the project, we wanted to create a site that offered our people a high-quality working environment but to also ensure a low environmental impact on both the build and future operations.
“By being able to design something from scratch, we have transformed how we work from top to bottom. Through evolving our garage and operations, we will use less energy, be even safer, have more efficient ways of working, and be better equipped to train and look after our people – while providing great value transport to the people of the West Midlands.”
BAM was the principal contractor on the site. Work started in mid-2021 and 946 people were employed at various stages.
NXWM says that innovative construction methods have saved a significant amount of carbon emissions, waste, and concrete and steel requirements.
Due to be installed at Perry Barr is one of four driving simulators that NXWM will soon have. Two are already in use: One at Coventry depot and one installed in a dedicated bus. In addition to Perry Barr, NXWM’s training academy at Walsall will receive a simulator.
The operator says that the simulators allow current and new drivers to experience “the digital world of driving.” They also allow delivery of training on high-risk manoeuvres.
To date, 300 NXWM drivers have tried the simulators with 100% of them recommending the experience to others. The Simfor DriVR units can create scenarios for any time of day and any weather condition.
Last but not least at Perry Barr, a fish tank is also present at the depot. Alongside two snooker tables and a heritage mirror, it was moved from the previous depot. Those premises had been in use since 1932. The old garage’s layout and fabric “do not lend themselves to modernisation or changes to infrastructure that future technology vehicles require,” says NXWM.
