Charles King
Transport Secretary Philip Hammond looks set to throw trainmaker Bombardier a lifeline with a £120m train order that would preserve hundreds of jobs at the Derby plant
It is certainly disappointing that the DFT awarded the next major train building order for the Thameslink programme to Siemens of Germany, rather than Bombardier of Derby. This follows on to the awarding of the Intercity express 2 programme to Hitachi of Japan. This decision is not only disappointing to the skilled employees working for Bombardier and their subcontractors in Derby and could possibly end train making in the UK. It is also disappointing for passengers. As a regular user of London Midland, Southern, SE & SW trains, I can say with confidence that Bombardier Electrostars are much better to ride in than Siemens Desiro stock.
I fully support the campaign by the TUC, Derby Council, MPs and others to get the Thameslink bid reopened which the coalition government has now agreed they could do, but the Prime Minister has stated in the Commons that this is unlikely. So what else could be done to assist Bombardier until the next big order for the London Crossrail programme?
