The Secretary of State for Transport, Louise Haigh, will open a new £200m train manufacturing factory in Goole, East Yorkshire later today.
This state-of-the-art facility will play a pivotal role in producing the next generation of trains for the UK, including the highly anticipated new Piccadilly line trains for Transport for London (TfL), up to 80% of which will be assembled in Goole. In addition to this, all of Siemens’ future UK train orders, including Siemens Mobility’s new battery trains, will be built at Goole, which is also gearing up to serving other global markets by 2030.
In addition to the £200m it has invested in the train manufacturing facility, Siemens Mobility has announced a further £40m investment in a state-of-the-art Bogie Assembly and Service Centre, further solidifying its commitment to the region.
The new Bogie Assembly and Service Centre will incorporate and expand Siemens Mobility’s current capabilities to overhaul bogies from UK trains, including the 3,224 strong fleet of vehicles (572 trains) it maintains in the UK, and will also include new production lines for assembling bogies for new trains, a first for Siemens in the UK.
Overall, the Google Rail Village is expected to bring up to 900 new direct jobs and support another 1,700 in the supply chain.
The Goole Rail Village consists of the Train Manufacturing Facility, which assembles and commissions trains; the Components Facility where Siemens maintain gearboxes, traction motors and other parts for train and tram fleets; the Logistics Centre warehousing facility; and the Rail Accelerator and Innovation Solutions hub for Enterprise (RaisE) business centre, all of which will now be joined by the Bogie Assembly and Service Centre.
Transport Secretary Louise Haigh said: “This impressive, world-class facility will be transformational to Goole and its people, providing a boost to the region’s economy and supporting hundreds of skilled jobs.
“Its opening demonstrates the importance of high quality, long-term investment to pave the way for employment and growth.
“I know how vital rail manufacturing is to our economy, which is why we will not sit on our hands when it comes to supporting it. For too long, the cycle of boom-and-bust has held back this sector.
“That’s why I am determined to put an end to the stop-start approach to investment and provide the industry with the certainty it needs to deliver a railway that is fit for the future”.
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