Goole rail manufacturing facility plans submitted by Siemens Mobility
Posted: 2 May 2019 | Global Railway Review | 1 comment
The proposed £200 million development at Goole 36 reaches major milestone as the first phase of manufacturing facilities are expected to open in 2023.
Siemens Mobility Limited has formally submitted an outline planning application to develop an industry-leading rail manufacturing site in Goole, East Yorkshire.
The submission is a major milestone towards establishing a £200 million facility to manufacture and commission state-of-the-art trains for the expanding UK market. Plans for the project were first unveiled in 2018.
The application has been submitted to East Riding of Yorkshire Council for the development on a 104-acre site at Goole 36, close to junction 36 of the M62 motorway (of which 67 acres is land suitable for development). The plans include 80,000m2 of manufacturing, commissioning, warehouse buildings and stabling sidings, as well as a four-storey, 5,000m2 office building.
As part of the project, Siemens Mobility is planning to create up to 700 jobs and a further 250 during the construction period, with an additional 1,700 potential UK supply chain roles.
The application is for outline consent to enable the development to be delivered in phases, with the first phase of the manufacturing facilities expected to open in 2023. It is anticipated the development will be fully operational in 2025.
Will Wilson, Managing Director, Rolling Stock, Siemens Mobility Limited, said: “This is a major step forward for our plans. With digitalisation we can help make trains and infrastructure intelligent and reaching this milestone furthers our vision to create a sustainable, long-term and technically advanced facility that is an asset to the UK. It’s the result of positive dialogue with the local authority, statutory bodies and other stakeholders, including community representatives.
“As a company we already have strong links in the local area. In 2016 Siemens opened a £310 million turbine blade factory in Hull, creating 1,000 local jobs to service offshore wind farms. This latest development would further deepen much needed commitment to the region, with a key focus on the local supply chain. It will establish a lasting legacy of related skills to further the UK’s ability to compete on a global scale.”
In addition to the new manufacturing facilities, Siemens Mobility’s UK rolling stock engineering and commissioning team will be based at the Goole site. The company also plans to locate its Digital Operations Centre onsite, to collect and analyse train-borne data for operators, strengthening Siemens Mobility’s position as the leading, most innovative and technologically advanced supplier to the UK rail industry.
The ambitions for the Goole site gained further confirmation in November 2018 following the signing of a £1.5 billion contract by London Underground Limited (a subsidiary of Transport for London) for Siemens Mobility Limited to design and build a new generation of trains for the Piccadilly line. The new tube trains will provide additional capacity and an improved passenger experience for millions of travellers.
Following this contract award, the Siemens Mobility Limited localisation team, charged with delivering the Goole development, established an office in East Yorkshire, with recruitment underway for key project roles.
As well as seeking to secure planning approval so the construction phase can begin, the team is executing a strategy to access skills available locally and grow a new skills base, with a strong emphasis on establishing a diverse and inclusive workforce.
When they say “manufacturing”, do Siemens mean that they will be fabricating bodyshells, designing/constructing bogies and other major items on site or will it just be final assembly of components, as per Hitachi at Newton Aycliffe.