Latest news with #TransPennine
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Delays on train orders putting factory jobs at risk, MPs told
Thousands of rail manufacturing jobs will be put at risk if the Government fails to sign off on a backlog of orders for new trains, bosses have warned. Executives from manufacturers Alstom and Siemens told MPs that long gaps between contracts for new trains on Britain's rail network would jeopardise production and threaten jobs. Only three tenders for new trains are in the offing, with both companies warning that they face a cliff edge in the rate they can build trains if they fail to win at least one of them. The businesses support thousands of jobs across the country, with Alstom's Derby factory dating back 140 years and Siemens having opened its first British plant in Goole, East Yorkshire, in October. Sambit Banerjee, Siemens Mobility's UK chief executive, urged the Government to establish a five-year, fully-funded pipeline of orders to safeguard jobs. 'We see an immediate necessity to push ahead with procurement. A lot of stock is very, very old and to upgrade it is much more expensive than bringing new trains in,' he told the Commons transport select committee. 'What the industry wants is certainty of the pipeline and certainty of the projects coming on time. We want to win competitively, but we are not getting that opportunity.' Since taking power last year, the Labour Government has pledged to establish an industrial strategy for rolling-stock and end what it called the boom-and-bust cycle of train orders by ensuring a strong pipeline of work. However, Mr Banerjee warned that Britain risks missing out on future spending if there are no orders to chase following investment such as the £340m that Siemens devoted to the Goole plant. He said: 'When I go to Munich I'm fighting with emerging economies and with the US, who are also asking for research and development money. 'If our shareholders give us £340m there has to then be projects coming to fruition.' Mr Banerjee added that while refurbishment work can help bridge the gap between new orders, this often represents poor value for money, pointing to upgrades to the 52-year-old Bakerloo Line trains for Transport for London (TfL). Siemens will also complete a contract for 94 Piccadilly Line trains in two years, Mr Banerjee said, after which the Goole site, which employs 700 people, faces 'a stiff drop' in production unless it wins work on trains for the Southeastern, TransPennine or Northern networks. A four-year funding settlement for TfL announced on Wednesday by Rachel Reeves in the Chancellor's spending review should also fund a shorter term order for new Bakerloo Line trains. Bidding for tenders has not been helped by changes to specifications and the number of trains needed, making it 'extraordinarily difficult for us as manufacturers to plan,' he said. Alstom, whose Derby Litchurch Lane site is Britain's biggest train factory with 1,500 workers, is also concerned. Peter Broadley, the company's commercial director, told the committee: 'There has been barely any rolling-stock procurement since the pandemic. If we were to win none of the three coming up it would be a tough environment.' Alstom was last year awarded a top-up order for 90 Elizabeth Line carriages that saved the Derby site from potential closure ahead of fitting out work on trains for High Speed 2. The companies face competition for contracts from Hitachi, which employs 700 people in Newton Aycliffe, Co Durham, and CAF of Spain, which operates a smaller plant in Newport, Wales. Hitachi was itself handed a lifeline in December with a £500m, 14-train deal from FirstGroup's Lumo brand, which will compete with the nationalised Great British Railways. Labour said last year that the rolling-stock sector would not be taken under state control, given costs estimated to be £10bn. The Department for Transport was contacted for comment. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
The Guardian
11-06-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Reeves confirms extra £3.5bn for TransPennine route in bid to improve railways across England
Rachel Reeves committed to building a better railway across the north of England in a review that promised more transport investment around the country but left London disappointed. The chancellor said the government's plans to 'take forward our ambitions for northern powerhouse rail' would be published shortly, and confirmed £3.5bn more funding to continue upgrades on the TransPennine routebetween Liverpool and Leeds. Reeves signalled that the north and the regions would be the big beneficiaries, having already announced £15bn for city regions to develop local tram, rail and bus projects over the next five years. Reeves also announced that she was publishing the review of the Treasury green book – the spending rules that have been seen as prioritising investment in the most populous and productive areas, namely London and the south-east. She said it would 'support place-based business cases and ensure no region has Treasury guidance wielded against them'. London was granted one major request, a longer-term funding settlement of £2bn over four years. But the mayor, Sadiq Khan, said he was disappointed by the lack of any commitment on its infrastructure plans. Reeves also announced £2.5bn to enable the 'continued delivery' of East West Rail, the line between Oxford and Cambridge. Railways in Wales will also get another £445m investment over 10 years. About £750m a year will go on bus services, including extending the £3 bus fare cap from the end of 2025 until March 2027. Another £25bn over four years will fund the continued construction of HS2 between London Euston and Birmingham. Northern leaders have been waiting for the new government to commit to new railways across the north since the scrapping of the northern leg of HS2 by Rishi Sunak in 2023. The detail of the northern powerhouse rail investment will be published in the infrastructure strategy next week, but are expected to set out plans to fund a new line west of Manchester Piccadilly to the city's airport, part of the scrapped HS2 route, and upgrades that would massively increase speed and capacity on the Liverpool-Manchester route. A new station at Bradford is also in the frame which, along with the TransPennine upgrade budget confirmed in the spending review, and future electrification and line works to Sheffield and Hull, would eventually create a much faster and reliable line across the north of England. The Northern Powerhouse Partnership, a business-led thinktank and advocacy group, said the commitment was 'a major step forward for growth across the north'. In the capital, however, Khan welcomed the multi-year financial deal for Transport for London (TfL) but added: 'It's also disappointing that there is no commitment today from the Treasury to invest in the new infrastructure London needs. Projects such as extending the Docklands Light Railway not only deliver economic growth across the country, but also tens of thousands of new affordable homes and jobs for Londoners. Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion He added: 'The way to level up other regions will never be to level down London.' Business groups in the capital were more blunt. John Dickie, the chief executive of the BusinessLDN group, said: 'It looks like London has been left short-changed. 'The lack of certainty around delivering shovel-ready projects like the DLR to Thamesmead and Bakerloo line extension that could accelerate growth, create new jobs and open up sites for tens of thousands of new homes is baffling.' The boss of TfL, Andy Lord, said the settlement would allow it to complete the introduction of new trains on the Piccadilly line and DLR, and 'progress discussions' on new Bakerloo line trains but TfL would have to make 'difficult decisions and we will need to continue to carefully prioritise investment and control our costs'. While capital spending on transport increased, the Department for Transport has had to accept some of the bigger real-term cuts in government for resource, or day-to-day spending. The budget will fall 5% in real terms over the next four years, with savings to be found through the creation of Great British Railways, higher rail fare income and making the DfT a 'smaller, more agile' department, according to Treasury documents.
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Reeves pumps money into NHS as critics warn future tax rises ‘almost inevitable'
Chancellor Rachel Reeves put a £29 billion-a-year rise in NHS funding at the heart of her plans for 'renewing Britain', with extra cash also promised for schools and transport. Ms Reeves acknowledged that 'too many people in too many parts of our country' were yet to feel the benefits of the change they voted for when Labour was swept to power last year. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the spending review marks the start of a 'new phase' of his government. But critics warned the state of the public finances meant further tax rises were 'almost inevitable' when Ms Reeves delivers her budget in the autumn. The Chancellor said across the review period – lasting until 2028-29 for day-to-day spending and 2029-30 for capital investment – departmental budgets would grow 2.3% a year in real terms. But that has been front-loaded by the cash injections made since Labour took office, meaning that from 2025-26 the increase is a more modest 1.5% on average. And the scale of the spending on the NHS in England – increasing to £226 billion by 2028-29, equivalent to 3% annual increases in real terms – means squeezing other areas of public expenditure. The Home Office, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Department for Transport and Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs are all in line for real-terms cuts in day-to-day spending. The Foreign Office is also in line for real-terms cuts, mainly as a result of a reduction in aid spending. Departments were ordered to find 5% savings and efficiencies by 2028-29 and reduce administration budgets by at least 16% in real terms by 2029-30. Ms Reeves said: 'This is a spending review to deliver the priorities of the British people: Security – a strong Britain, in a changing world. 'Economic growth – powered by investment and opportunity in every part of Britain. 'And our nation's health – with an NHS fit for the future. 'I have made my choices. In place of chaos, I choose stability. In place of decline, I choose investment. 'In place of pessimism, division and defeatism, I choose national renewal.' The review marks a watershed moment for the Government, almost a year after Labour's election landslide. At a Cabinet meeting ahead of Ms Reeves's announcement, Sir Keir told ministers the spending review 'marks the end of the first phase of this Government, as we move to a new phase that delivers on the promise of change for working people all around the country'. Measures announced included: – The schools budget will grow by £2 billion at an average real-terms growth of 1.1% a year per pupil. – In addition, some £2.3 billion per year will go to fixing 'crumbling classrooms' and £2.4 billion per year to rebuild 500 schools. – A further £3.5 billion of investment to upgrade the TransPennine rail route that links York, Leeds and Manchester and £2.5 billion for East West rail between East Anglia and Oxfordshire. – £7 billion to fund 14,000 new prison places and up to £700 million per year into reform of the probation system. – Universities and high-tech industries will get a boost in research and development, with it rising to £22 billion per year by the end of the spending review, with £2 billion to support 'home-grown AI'. – Confirmation of previously trailed announcements of £30 billion for nuclear projects, including £14.2 billion for Sizewell C, £39 billion over 10 years for social housing and £15 billion for public transport projects in England's city regions. As well as changing Treasury rules to support investment in England's regions, Ms Reeves said the spending review period would provide £52 billion for Scotland, £20 billion for Northern Ireland and £23 billion for Wales. In a sign of the difficulties that Sir Keir and the Chancellor face, migrants continued to cross the English Channel in small boats on Wednesday. Ms Reeves promised funding of up to £280 million more per year by the end of the spending review period in 2028-29 for the new Border Security Command and committed to end spending on hotels for asylum seekers by the next election. In an attack on the Conservative legacy, she said: 'The party opposite left behind a broken system: billions of pounds of taxpayers' money spent on housing asylum seekers in hotels, leaving people in limbo and shunting the cost of failure onto local communities. 'We won't let that stand.' She said: 'We will be ending the costly use of hotels to house asylum seekers in this Parliament', with funding to cut the asylum backlog, hear more appeal cases and return those with no right to be in the UK. The plan would save taxpayers £1 billion a year, Ms Reeves said. With the Chancellor insisting she would stick to her 'fiscal rules' – including meeting day-to-day spending through tax receipts – critics warned that any economic shock could push her plans off course. Stephen Millard, interim director of the NIESR economic research institute, said: 'The Chancellor has yet again said that her fiscal rules are 'non-negotiable'. 'But, given the small amount of headroom at the time of the spring statement and the increases in spending announced since then, it is now almost inevitable that if she is to keep to her fiscal rules, she will have to raise taxes in the autumn budget.' Paul Johnson of the Institute for Fiscal Studies said 3% a year increases in NHS spending 'does mean virtually nothing on average for current spending elsewhere'. Shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride said 'this is the spend-now, tax-later review' adding Ms Reeves 'knows she will need to come back here in the autumn with yet more taxes and a cruel summer of speculation awaits'. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Delays on train orders putting factory jobs at risk, MPs told
Thousands of rail manufacturing jobs will be put at risk if the Government fails to sign off on a backlog of orders for new trains, bosses have warned. Executives from manufacturers Alstom and Siemens told MPs that long gaps between contracts for new trains on Britain's rail network would jeopardise production and threaten jobs. Only three tenders for new trains are in the offing, with both companies warning that they face a cliff edge in the rate they can build trains if they fail to win at least one of them. Both businesses employ thousands of workers across the country, with Alstom's Derby factory dating back 140 years and Siemens having opened its first British plant in Goole, East Yorkshire, in October. Sambit Banerjee, Siemens Mobility's UK chief executive, urged the Government to establish a five-year, fully-funded pipeline of orders to safeguard jobs. 'We see an immediate necessity to push ahead with procurement. A lot of stock is very, very old and to upgrade it is much more expensive than bringing new trains in,' he told the Commons transport select committee. 'What the industry wants is certainty of the pipeline and certainty of the projects coming on time. We want to win competitively, but we are not getting that opportunity.' Since taking power last year, the Labour Government has pledged to establish an industrial strategy for rolling-stock and end what it called the boom-and-bust cycle of train orders by ensuring a strong pipeline of work. However, Mr Banerjee warned that Britain risks missing out on future spending if there are no orders to chase following investment such as the £340m that Siemens devoted to the Goole plant. He said: 'When I go to Munich I'm fighting with emerging economies and with the US, who are also asking for research and development money. 'If our shareholders give us £340m there has to then be projects coming to fruition.' Mr Banerjee added that while refurbishment work can help bridge the gap between new orders, this often represents poor value for money, pointing to upgrades to the 52-year-old Bakerloo Line trains for Transport for London (TfL). Siemens will also complete a contract for 94 Piccadilly Line trains in two years, Mr Banerjee said, after which the Goole site, which employs 700 people, faces 'a stiff drop' in production unless it wins work on trains for the Southeastern, TransPennine or Northern networks. A four-year funding settlement for TfL announced on Wednesday by Rachel Reeves in the Chancellor's spending review should also fund a shorter term order for new Bakerloo Line trains. Bidding for tenders has not been helped by changes to specifications and the number of trains needed, making it 'extraordinarily difficult for us as manufacturers to plan,' he said. Alstom, whose Derby Litchurch Lane site is Britain's biggest train factory with 1,500 workers, is also concerned. Peter Broadley, the company's commercial director, told the committee: 'There has been barely any rolling-stock procurement since the pandemic. If we were to win none of the three coming up it would be a tough environment.' Alstom was last year awarded a top-up order for 90 Elizabeth Line carriages that saved the Derby site from potential closure ahead of fitting out work on trains for High Speed 2. The companies face competition for contracts from Hitachi, which employs 700 people in Newton Aycliffe, Co Durham, and CAF of Spain, which operates a smaller plant in Newport, Wales. Hitachi was itself handed a lifeline in December with a £500m, 14-train deal from FirstGroup's Lumo brand, which will compete with the nationalised Great British Railways. Labour said last year that the rolling-stock sector would not be taken under state control, given costs estimated to be £10bn. The Department for Transport was contacted for comment. Sign in to access your portfolio
Wales Online
06-06-2025
- Business
- Wales Online
The UK Government has to deliver £4bn of rail investment in Wales
The UK Government has to deliver £4bn of rail investment in Wales | Mark Barry Transport expert Professor Mark Barry of Cardiff University makes the case for UK rail enhancement investment in Wales to help address years of under investment out to 2040 The UK Government needs to get serious on rail investment in Wales says Prof Barry. (Image: John Myers ) Chancellor Rachel Reeves will next week present the UK Government's next three year spending commitments in the comprehensive spending review (CSR). That should, if London is listening, see some major pledges for rail enhancement investment in Wales. Instead of focusing on the case for rail devolution, the failings of the Barnett formula and decades of relative underspend on Wales's rail network by various UK governments, I want to focus on looking ahead and arguing for £4bn rail investment to 2040. As I set out in a letter to Secretary of State for Transport Heidi Alexander last December, this is based on rail enhancement commitments likely in England of approximately £80bn over the same period. These commitments include to complete HS2, TransPennine upgrade, East West Rail, and some new schemes in England - some of which have been announced ahead of the CSR including more trams in Manchester, Leeds-Bradford tram, Liverpool, Bristol and the West of England. Some £4bn for Wales would be a commensurate and a fair Barnett allocation and can be directed at schemes in Wales already subject to significant business case and scheme development. Article continues below To be clear, Wales needs this investment not just because its fair or right, but because of the benefits, especially economic, that can be realised. These include mode shift and reduced carbon emissions, economic agglomeration and development benefits, more transit oriented development , reduced road traffic accidents, improved air quality, more financially efficient public transport operations, reduced road congestion (freeing up road space for those that need to use them) and less wear and tear of our roads. Bus reform in Wales and how it could play out READ MORE: As I set out in my book How to build a Metro, in Wales via Transport for Wales, Welsh Government, the regions and local authorities, we have already developed a range of rail enhancement schemes to at least outline business case, commensurate with that scale of investment and which will deliver these wider benefits to 2040. In summary they are: South Wales Main Line (SWML) upgrade £1bn) We need to see the five Burns stations (pretty much along the lines of the proposals in the 2013 Metro Impact Study and later presented in the Western Gateway 2050 Rail Vision). This would see new stations at Cardiff East, Parkway, Newport West, Maindy, Llanwern and Magor and the complementary relief lines upgrade. We also need: More electrification heading west to Swansea and Carmarthen. New services including Bristol Temple Meads to Cardiff, with some continuing west from Cardiff to Swansea and Carmarthen. I would also explore whether we could route one via the Vale of Glamorgan Line and Cardiff Airport. The new open access Lumo (part of FirstGroup) fast Carmarthen-Cardiff-London service which will skip Swansea High Street and Neath (but stopping at Gowerton) enabling Carmarthen to function as a Parkway for West Wales. I would also like to see the GWR services into South Wales mapped into the Transport for Wales franchise or GBR Cymru arrangements post the establishment of Great British Railways. Swansea Bay and West Wales £500m There is very good initial phase of a Metro in Swansea/Neath/Llanelli which has been subject to significant scheme and business case development. The first key phases of this urban area rail Metro include two new key routes and services with: Bury Port to Swansea High Street with a new station at Cockett. Pontardulais-Llandarcy-Neath-Swansea service using the Swansea District Line (SDL) and a new chord connection to the South Wales Mainline at Britton Ferry to allow direct services to Swansea High Street from the SDL. This can support new local Metro stations at Morriston, Llandarcy, Pontlliw. Felindre, etc. We also need enhanced local rail services west of Swansea all the way to Milford Haven aligned to a range of tactical infrastructure enhancement – these complement some of the South Wales Mainline service measures set out above This work needs to be combined with a focus on more and greater transit-oriented development at primary stations like Llandarcy, Neath, Llanelli and in/around Swansea High Street stations. North Wales £1bn Transport Secretary Ken Skates set out a big vision for North Wales at a transport conference in Wrexham last month. This vision needs to see some early measures and focused delivery with an initial £1bn programme that includes: Upgrade of borderlands and integration with Merseyrail and use of their new 777s electric stock; early measures to deliver capacity for freight at Padeswood. North Wales Main Line (NWML) line speed and capacity upgrades to allow more services – both local all stopper with increased frequency, and long-distance express. A rolling electrification programme. New stations and key station upgrade for example, Shotton (as an interchange), Deeside Industrial Estate and especially Chester to allow more capacity through the station. Longer term the application of tram-train in both north east and north west Wales. Cardiff Capital Region Metro £500m Now there are good cases to be made for at least a further £2bn of rail and metro investment in the Cardiff Capital Region. This includes the full Cardiff Crossrail, Aberdare-Hirwaun, Cross Valley, Caerphilly-Newport and an extension in Merthyr. However, the initial and pragmatic focus has to be: Deliver a Metro in Cardiff (which is not really delivered as part of the current South Wales Metro programme. This means Cardiff Crossrail phase two. At its core this needs to see the City and Coryton lines operate with at least 4 trains per hour (tph) instead of the 2tph planed, this needs work at Cardiff West junction, and a Coryton loop. Station Link at Central to connect Crossrail Phase 1a (to the Bay) to the west, electrification to Penarth and tram-trains on Penarth – Coryton via the Bay. Then further Metro stations, including Roath Park, Ely Mill, Gabalfa, Treforest Industrial Estate, Pontypridd North and a new platform at Cogan on a Penarth branch served by tram-trains. Some further double tracking to the Core Valley Lines to improve capacity and reliability. New Ebbw Valley line services planned (to get 4tph south of Llanhilleth) routing to the Marches line and Abergavenny with a new stop at Caerleon and perhaps Sebastopol (this a better investment than the short extension to Abertillery). Maesteg line measure to deliver at least 2tph. Then perhaps, the Coryton-Radyr link (in whatever form is appropriate) as this connection helps build our connected public transport grid. It will also make the new Velindre hospital more accessible from the north of Cardiff. Marches Line £500m This line supports what is perhaps Transport for Wales' most profitable service. It needs to be upgraded so we can offer a reliable sub three hour Cardiff-Manchester journey time. This will require: Some passing sections upgraded track and signalling and some electrification. In some places new local services in NE and SE Wales so that local stations (eg Pontypool, Caerleon (new), Ruabon, Chirk, etc can be taken off long distance services and served instead by new local Metro services. Further measures may be required at Crewe. Finally To conclude giving the tens of billions committed in England (which I welcome outside London) we need to see a forward commitment of at least £4bn to 2040 in Wales, anything less is just not acceptable, and would be politically toxic. And for my perspective we still need full rail devolution to Wales. In addition to this core rail investment, we need to integrate these interventions with our new post bus reform redesigned bus networks (which will also need more investment. Article continues below The Welsh Government and the regional joint corporate committees also need to find the further infrastructure investment needed to deliver more bus priority and bus lanes, especially in our urban areas. This will improve both the attractiveness of bus services and the financial efficiency of bus operations.
