The Transport Select Committee hears warnings of the risk of factory closures without orders for new train orders. PHILIP HAIGH studies the evidence and what new rolling stock the DfT must consider to save factories and jobs
WITNESSES at December 6’s Transport Select Committee laid bare the consequences of Department for Transport inaction since the COVID-19 pandemic struck almost four years ago.
Committee Chairman Iain Stewart gathered the day’s three witnesses to ask about rolling stock, as Britain faces the prospect of closing factories owing to lack of work.
That comes despite several train operators needing new trains to replace ageing fleets. These include Southeastern, Northern and Chiltern Railways. All three have trains dating from the 1980s and 1990s that arrived in the days when British Rail ran the network.
Before the pandemic, companies winning the right to run rail franchises from the DfT would often order new trains as part of their bids.
This resulted in TransPennine Express bringing in three new fleets after taking over in 2016 (one is now being withdrawn, but at the same time the company is eyeing a fresh order).
Abellio’s Greater Anglia win in 2016 came with a promise to replace every train it inherited, and some of its new trains have come with level boarding as a major benefit for passengers using wheelchairs.
And in 2017, South Western Railway ordered 750 new Class 701 electric multiple units to replace several of its predecessor’s fleets. These trains, built by Bombardier (now Alstom) in Derby, have yet to enter service amid technical problems compounded by complaints from the rail unions representing drivers and guards. But the glut of rolling stock orders has now dried up, and is withering the future prospects of Alstom’s plant at Derby.
Alstom UK and Ireland Managing Director Nick Crossfield was one of December 6’s witnesses. He spelled out Alstom’s view of Britain’s rolling stock market: “In the next two to three years, [it’s] hugely challenging.
“I think medium to long-term, it’s actually quite an attractive market. If you look particularly in the longer term, say from 2027-28 onwards, in European terms the UK market for rolling stock is predicted to be the second-largest market in Europe. And, actually, if you drill down even further, the market for commuter rail in the UK from 2027-28 onwards is probably the fastest-growing market in Europe.”
This will be little consolation to staff at Derby facing redundancy and job losses among its suppliers. Crossfield told MPs that Derby employs 3,000 people and that the wider supply chain contains another 15,000 jobs.
Derby’s Aventra production line has supplied over 6,000 vehicles to the Elizabeth line, London Overground, Greater Anglia, c2c and West Midlands Trains, as well as those troubled
