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.’