A VISIT to Derby by the transport minister Theresa Villiers has disappointed people in the city, because she gave no undertakings about more work for the Bombardier train-building works at Litchurch Lane.
Ms Villiers had originally been due to make a speech in Derby on 3 November at the annual conference of the Derby & Derbyshire Rail Forum, but pulled out at the last moment in favour of dealing with a matter in her constituency. She was accused of being reluctant to face her critics in Derby, following the decision in June to award the £1.4 billion Thameslink rolling stock contract to Siemens instead.
A large fleet of subsurface trains is being built in Derby at the moment for London Underground, but the last of those trains is due to be completed in 2014, when as things stand Litchurch Lane would run out of projects.
Although Bombardier failed to win the Thameslink competition, hopes had started to rise when Ms Villiers arrived yesterday, because discussions are under way about two contracts, which although much smaller would bring much-needed work.
One is a proposal to add a pantograph car to 57 CrossCountry Voyager units, converting them into bi-modal trains, while Southern has just launched a procurement process to acquire another 130 electric multiple unit vehicles, which Bombardier supporters hope could be more Electrostars to add to Southern's already substantial Derby-built fleet.
Union leaders expressed their disappointment after Ms Villers' non-committal visit. An RMT spokesman said there had been 'no point to it', while UNITE described it as 'wasted'.
However, Bombardier has had some better news, with the announcement that ScotRail has placed a £15 million contract with the company which extends an existing agreement to 9 November 2014.
It covers support and supply of spares for the ScotRail Class 170 Turbostar fleet, which consists of more than 170 vehicles. Bogie overhauls will be carried out at the Bombardier works in Crewe.
Des McKeon, who is Bombardiers' commercial director for services, described the signing of the ScotRail contract as 'a significant win'.