Sonic Rail Services fits Michelin Agilis CrossClimate tyre

Sonic Rail Services (SRS) is fitting the Michelin Agilis CrossClimate tyre on its entire van fleet. The decision follows a trial which highlighted the tyre’s safety benefits and savings potential, the rail infrastructure business said.

SRS works on a variety of construction projects for Network Rail and London Underground, and was previously fitting Michelin Agilis tyres on its larger vans and Michelin Energy Saver + fitments on its smaller vehicles. Having sampled the all-year traction provided by Michelin’s latest generation summer tyres offering full winter capability, it plans to roll out Agilis CrossClimate on every vehicle in its 58-strong van fleet.

Jon Vincent, fleet maintenance manager, says: “We’ve had a lot of positive feedback from the drivers, particularly with regards to improved grip on wet and frosty roads. We are based in quite a rural area, with a lot of muddy country lanes and tight bends and the handling of the vehicles with the CrossClimates on has been exceptional.”

SRS has tested the Agilis CrossClimate fitments on one of each of the van models it has in service – including a huge 4.7-tonne Ford Transit, a smaller Ford Transit, a Ford Transit Courier, a Ford Fiesta and a Vauxhall Vivaro.

“The performance and grip levels from the tyres has been absolutely first class,” adds Vincent.

The Agilis CrossClimate range is proven to boost safety in all weathers whilst delivering high mileage, impressive robustness, damage resistance and long-lasting performance, equating to low total cost of ownership.

“We’ve looked at specialised winter tyres before – but to get 58 vehicles back into the garage, swap all the tyres and then store those summer tyres for when the weather is better is a really big job,” says Vincent. “When you add up the cost of changing the tyres and the cost of storage it would be a pretty large expense.

“So, it’s far better for us to have one tyre that we can use all-year round. With the Agilis CrossClimate, we get best performance in the winter, and the best performance in summer – what more can you ask for?”

SRS was founded in 1997 and employs more than 70 permanent members of staff. It has a head office in Burnham-on-Crouch, Essex, and satellite offices in Kent and central London.