A new report is warning that train-building centres in Britain such as Alstom in Derby and Hitachi in Newton Aycliffe will run out of work within 12 months from now, putting thousands of jobs at risk.
The report from the Railway Industry Association, entitled ‘The UK rolling stock industry – making 2023 the year of opportunity not crisis,’ warns that ‘the UK will not be able to upgrade or renew trains if the factories and skilled workers are no longer there’.
The industry currently employs more than 30,000 people and is said to contribute at least £1.8 billion to the national economy. RIA is also pointing to the government’s commitment to investing in a major battery factory at Bridgwater in Somerset, saying that while it welcomes moves towards low carbon transport, similar support needs to be extended to the rail supply chain.
The lack of action over creating Great British Railways is a further problem, because the present operators are no longer franchises but government contractors, who are unlikely to make major commercial decisions like leasing new trains or modernising existing fleets.
The government has said it remains committed to GBR, but there may not be enough Parliamentary time for the necessary legislation before the next General Election.
RIA technical director David Clarke said: ‘With the last mainline order being over three years ago and no visibility of new orders for upgrading or renewing rolling stock in the UK, we are once again facing the prospect of job losses and factory closures.
‘These closures would have a deeply damaging impact, with jobs, passenger satisfaction, value for money and the drive to decarbonise all undermined by the upcoming trough in the “boom-and-bust” funding cycle.
‘This report is clear that rolling stock orders are required now. These should be “no-regrets” decisions for government as they wouldn’t require upfront taxpayer investment but would result in a broad range of benefits, from retaining jobs to immediate carbon and air quality improvement.’
RIA’s conclusions have won the backing of the Campaign for Better Transport.
The CBT’s Norman Baker said: ‘We cannot continue with the current stop-go policy of investment in rail. It breeds uncertainty and pushes up costs unnecessarily. Rail is the transport of the future: clean, green, efficient and productive. But long-term thinking by government is needed if rail's full potential is to be realised. This report should be a wake-up call for government: it must look further down the track and begin making decisions to secure the future of our railways and our rail industry.’
He continued: ‘The government has this week celebrated plans for an electric car battery factory in the UK, but there's no point creating jobs in the motoring industry while losing them in the rail industry.’