Melbourne, Australia, April 15, 2013 – A new Rail Maintenance Facility was recently opened by Thermo King Rail Australia, official dealer of Thermo King for rail heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) products and services. This new facility near Melbourne, Australia, aims to meet the current and future needs of the tram, rail and locomotive industries.

The new maintenance facility, located just 19 km from the heart of Melbourne, will support the maintenance and overhaul of rail HVAC solutions nationally. The facility will serve amongst others the approximately 900 Thermo King light rail vehicle HVAC units which have been operating in Melbourne since 2001 and are exceeding performance expectations, according to Thermo King, a manufacturer of transport temperature control solutions for a variety of mobile applications and a brand of Ingersoll Rand.

Andrew Lezala, Chief Executive Officer of Metro Trains Melbourne, the Melbourne metropolitan rail service which provides more than 230 million customer journeys each year, served as the guest keynote speaker at a grand opening event held in mid-March.

“HVAC systems are extremely important to Metro Trans Melbourne,” said Lezala. “When they don’t work well, customers notice immediately and complain. Occupant comfort is more important than ever as we see Australia’s ambient temperatures rising. Summers are becoming hotter and hotter with an increasing number of days each summer over 40°C.”

“Rail represents an important growth opportunity for Thermo King,” said Michel van Roozendaal, Vice President Bus and Global Rail for Thermo King. “We are committed to serving the rapid growth of the Melbourne system and the Australian national system by leveraging our unrivaled expertise and reliability in transport air conditioning and refrigeration, as well as on our global network of engineering and manufacturing plants and dealers.

The 3,295 square meter facility is designed to provide servicing of equipment, component replacements, coil cleaning, panel repairs, water testing, performance testing and upgrades. The site will also test equipment for new equipment supply and provide local content – an increasing priority with local tenders.