Statement from the Leader of Derby City Council, Councillor Baggy Shanker, on the Government's commitment to the future of Alstom's train manufacturing in Derby:
We received a letter on Wednesday from the Secretary of State for Transport Mark Harper MP in response to the letters I sent last week. Mr Harper has outlined in his response that a further five Elizabeth line trains have been approved in principle for manufacture at the Derby site. This is in addition to the five trains that were confirmed in March, will make a total of ten trains.
Alstom can now commit to the site in the short and long term, protecting valuable manufacturing and engineering jobs in our city. I'm especially pleased that Alstom has committed to basing the new global Adessia commuter train platform here in Derby - that's a real win.
We will continue to press the Government to complete the deal and commit to keeping this industry alive in the city, especially for the 1300 jobs that are at risk. Without these orders and the promise of future support, we will lose train-making in the UK forever and put almost two centuries of local rail heritage at risk.
As a city, we’ll continue to work closely with our partners at Alstom and with the Secretary of State to bridge this gap and keep train making in Derby. The Government needs to ensure rail procurement is better planned in the future to avoid this feast and famine approach to train building in the UK.I’d like to thank everyone in Team Derby who has come together to give their support on such a vital issue for the prosperity of our city.