Labour’s


shadow
transport
secretary
Louise
Haigh
is
accusing
the
Government
of
‘complacency,
negligence
and
creating
chaos
for
Britain’s
rail
manufacturing
industry’.
She
has
been
visiting
the
Alstom
works
in
Litchurch
Lane
Derby,
where
the
factory
is
being
mothballed
because
of
a
lack
of
orders
for
new
trains. 

Alstom
has
announced
it
will
have
to
start
preparing
for
1,300
redundancies.
Hitachi
has
also
said
that
up
to
700
jobs
are
at
risk
at
its
Newton
Aycliffe
works
in
County
Durham.

Alstom
UK
managing
director
Nick
Crossfield
has
blamed
the
Government
for
‘continued
delay
in
providing
us
with
certainty
and
clarity’.

In
a
leaked
letter
to
transport
secretary
Mark
Harper,
he
said:
‘The
ending
of
train
manufacture
at
Derby
Litchurch
Lane
after
147
years
is
an
outcome
we
have
been
working
extremely
hard
to
avoid.

‘After
10
months
of
inconclusive
discussions,
we
must
now
begin
the
arduous
and
disruptive
task
of
demobilising
manufacturing
operations
at
Derby
Litchurch
Lane.

‘A
production
gap
of
this
scale
is
totally
unsustainable
for
Alstom
and
our
supply
chain
to
manage.’

Labour
said
it
has
called
on
ministers
to
‘urgently
explore
all
options’
to
avoid
job
losses,
including
amending
or
bringing
forward
rolling
stock
contracts.

Louise
Haigh
said:
‘Our
rail
manufacturing
industry
is
in
crisis.
Manufacturers’
order
books
have
dried
up
as
the
transport
secretary
has
sat
back
and
done
nothing
about
it.
Our
rail
industry
needs
certainty,
stability
and
leadership.
This
government
has
only
given
them
complacency,
chaos
and
negligence,
with
avoidable
job
losses
being
the
result.

‘The
transport
secretary
has
questions
to
answer
on
why
he
has
failed
to
deliver
on
agreements
to
maintain
a
consistent
order
schedule
for
rail
manufacturers.
The
sector
urgently
needs
a
long-term
rolling
stock
strategy
to
provide
stability
and
certainty.

‘Britain
was
the
country
that
created
the
railways,
but
that
legacy
is
being
trashed
by
a
Conservative
Government
that
is
content
to
oversee
its
managed
decline.’

The
Department
for
Transport
has
said
that
‘rail
manufacturing
plays
an
important
role
in
growing
the
UK
economy
and
delivering
better
services
for
passengers.

‘The
Government
is
committed
to
supporting
the
entire
sector
and
we
remain
in
close
contact
with
Alstom
to
secure
a
sustainable
future
for
rail
manufacturing
at
Derby.’