Siemens Mobility has confirmed that 80 per cent of new trains for the Piccadilly line will be assembled at a state-of-the-art Goole rail village.
The company is in the final stages of fitting out its new train factory, where the London Underground trains will be produced. Originally, 50 per cent of the trains were due to be built onsite in the East Riding of Yorkshire. Sambit Banerjee, Joint CEO of Siemens Mobility, said that the 30 per cent increase was testament to Siemens Mobility’s “manufacturing capabilities.”
The Siemens Mobility factory, which is set to open this spring, is part of the wider rail village. Up to £200 million is being invested in the village, and as many as 700 jobs will be created, along with to 1,700 opportunities in the supply chain. This increase represents a larger pipeline of work on the first project for the factory, extending security for the Goole rail village.
Sambit Banerjee added: “For the first time Siemens Mobility will assemble trains here, in Britain. This is a truly exciting milestone not just for us but the industry and local economies as a whole. And the fact that we will be increasing the amount up to 80 per cent of Piccadilly line Tube trains being assembled in Goole is a testament of our manufacturing capabilities. We are proud to be assembling these trains here in Yorkshire, which will transform rail travel for commuters and visitors to our great capital city. These next generation of walk-through, air conditioned, energy efficient Tube trains for Britain will be put together right here by the next generation of engineers.”
Stuart Harvey, TfL’s Chief Capital Officer, commented: “Producing more Piccadilly line trains in Goole will support local supply chains, clearly demonstrating how investment in transport in London benefits the whole of the UK. We have ensured that this development will not impact when the first train arrives for testing in London later this year, ahead of entering service in 2025, nor the planned timetable uplift in 2027.
“Subject to long-term certainty on Government funding, the factory in Goole is also expected to deliver a replacement fleet for the Bakerloo line, which at more than 50 years old is the oldest train in passenger service in the UK.”
The first Piccadilly line train has been delivered from Goole’s sister factory in Vienna, and has been undergoing extensive testing by Siemens Mobility’s engineers at its test track and climate chamber in Germany ahead of the first train arriving in London this summer.
Transport for London (TfL) will then carry out further infrastructure testing and integration before the new trains start entering passenger service in London in 2025.
The Piccadilly line trains are based on Siemens Mobility’s Inspiro family of metro trains and offer passengers an improved customer experience with walk-through, air-conditioned carriages and improved accessibility. The new metro trains will increase capacity by around 10 per cent and are also lighter than existing designs which will mean the trains are more energy efficient as well as providing a smoother ride for passengers. This is from the semi-articulated design enabling fewer bogies to be fitted on the longer 113 metre train. All trains will be fitted with digital passenger information screens with real time information and CCTV in the carriages.
The Goole factory is the centrepiece of a wider rail village, which includes assembly and commissioning halls, a train components servicing facility, a materials and logistics warehouse, and the Rail Accelerator & Innovation Solutions Hub for Enterprise (Raise), establishing Goole as a centre of excellence for rail technology in the UK. The components facility, which services motors, gearboxes and HVAC for our UK fleets, one quarter of UK passenger trains, and the Raise hub are already open. Rolling stock for the UK train market will be assembled at the factory, starting with new Piccadilly line Tube trains for TfL, and all future UK orders, including the Bakerloo line trains, subject to TfL securing further funding from Government to renew the life-expired fleet.
