Alstom previously told unions it would need to resume the process of cutting 1,200 employees. Photo: Asadur Guzelyan/Guzelyan
Britain's largest train plant is set to be saved from closure following crisis talks after Transport Secretary Mark Harper agreed to sign off on a vital new order.
Alstom's Derby plant, which employs 3,000 people, completed its last remaining trains in March. , a deal to build 10 new commuter trains will be struck following key talks between Mr Harper and the French company's chief executive, Henri Poupart-Lafarge.
The new work will start in the first half of 2025 and will cover a gap in work before then. how the Derby plant will begin building a fleet of express trains for the HS2 line in mid-2026.
A period of drought threatened the viability of the plant, and in early April Alstom informed the unions that it would need to resume the process of making 1,200 workers redundant.
Mr Poupart-Lafarge traveled to London on 16 April to persuade Mr Harper is aware of the seriousness of the situation, the source said. The breakthrough was achieved when the government agreed to fund five more trains for the Elizabeth line, in addition to five others that had already received general funding from the Treasury.
Previous negotiations with the Department for Transport had failed. in any new orders.
Mark Harper has agreed to sign a vital new order. Photo: Andy Raine/Shutterstock
Mr Harper has now agreed to finance the construction of the Aventra trains, comprising a total of 90 carriages, sources close to the negotiations said. Transport for London, which oversees the Elizabeth Line and will own the new trains, still needs to submit a formal business case for the purchase, although the process is not expected to pose major hurdles, the sources said.
Alstom's entire Lychurch Lane plant in Derby faces closure after completing final tests in four or five months, a move that would throw the HS2 program into chaos and leave the UK as the only G7 country without a combined capability design and production of trains.
An Alstom spokesman said: “The parties have agreed to complete negotiations as soon as possible, but no later than the end of May. This could help secure the future of Lichchurch Lane.”
Mr Harper said in a social media post that he had had a “constructive meeting” with Alstom about the future of train manufacturing in the UK and that discussions were intense will be continued with a view to concluding an agreement.
In a letter to Derby MPs, Mr Harper said the French firm had a responsibility to ensure competitive pricing and cost transparency to ensure the contract was closed quickly. He asked Alstom for written confirmation that the company would invest in Lichchurch Lane and develop it into a design and production center.
Alstom will move some other work to Lychurch Lane to protect jobs until the new contract begins. The factory, which dates back more than 140 years, helps support 15,000 jobs in the supply chain and contributes around £1 billion to GDP each year.
The future of Hitachi's County Durham rail plant remains uncertain as it prepares to close production work on their latest orders in the summer. The Newton Aycliffe site is scheduled to build HS2 trains from the second half of next year before they are sent to Alstom for completion, but there is currently not enough work to see the process through.
Train production at the Newton Aycliffe plant, which employs 700 people, is set to peak in the summer before falling sharply in the autumn after contracts with Avanti West Coast and East Midlands Railway end, leaving behind hundreds of high-priced trains. skilled manufacturing jobs are vulnerable. The trial work will only last the rest of the workforce until next spring.
Shadow Transport Secretary Louise Hay raised the urgent issue of rail job cuts in the House of Commons on Tuesday, accusing the Government of needlessly delaying the process. has damaged the industry.
She said: “Critical deadlines have been missed, avoidable job losses have already occurred and local businesses have already been forced to close.”
Responding, Rail Minister Hugh Merriman said: “These are complex problems with no easy solutions, but the Government has done everything it can to support the workforce over many months and continues to do so.”
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