Alstom in redundancy talks over 1300 manufacturing plant jobs

The end of train manufacturing in the UK is edging closer, with a redundancy consultation for 1,300 manufacturing staff under way after Alstom confirmed it is shutting production lines at Derby Litchurch Lane, after 148 years.

There are a further 500 design engineers at Derby (none of Alstom’s competitors design trains in the UK). If Derby’s production lines stop for an extended period, this function is under threat of moving overseas. It would leave the UK as the only G7 nation unable to design and build trains.

The last train (720141) from the current order book of 2,500 Aventra electric multiple units left the factory on March 21.

The news is not unexpected. In May 2023, Alstom raised the problem of an upcoming 27-month production gap between the end of current orders in early 2024 and the start of HS2 rolling stock in mid-2026. This contract is an Alstom-Hitachi joint venture.

Since then, ten months of talks have taken place with Transport Secretary Mark Harper over more orders, using short-term follow-on options under existing contracts.

While some progress has been made, including funding for five additional Elizabeth line trains for Transport for London, it is not enough to continue manufacturing. Harper has now asked Alstom for a further four months of discussions.

Alstom has reconfirmed its commitment to the plant. UK & Ireland, Managing Director Nick Crossfield said the company will base its new Adessia commuter train in Derby for design and build, if agreement can be reached on a package of work to fill the production gap.

Otherwise, Alstom has remained tight-lipped, limiting itself to a short statement: “We have worked constructively with the Government on securing a sustainable future for Derby Litchurch Lane, but after ten months of discussions we have run out of time and the production lines have stopped.

“We will now consult with our staff, trades unions and our UK supply chain to provide as much certainty as we can.”

Further unpredictability comes after the axing of HS2 Phase 2 in October 2023. The Department for Transport has confirmed the HS2 train order size, but there is still no commitment to a delivery schedule. It is widely expected that the mid-2026 date will slip.

Harper’s efforts to swing the blame for a lack of orders onto train operators has been roundly condemned by Shadow Transport Secretary Louise Haigh, who said it is “disingenuous at best” and an “abdication of responsibility for protecting high-skilled jobs in a key manufacturing sector”.

She added that Harper’s assertion of £3.6 billion in possible future orders for Northern, Chiltern Railways, TransPennine Express, Southeastern and Great Western Railway is oblique, because all are only at the early market engagement stage, not having even reached ‘invitation to tender’.

Read our full anlysis and comment on the Derby works in RAIL issue 1007 out now. Get your copy delivered to your letterbox or inbox.