3 minute read - 13th February 2024
Siemens train factory in Goole nears completion
Siemens Mobility is in the final stages of fitting out its new train factory in Goole, Yorkshire where up to 80% of the new Piccadilly line Tube trains will be produced, up from a figure of 50%. The factory, which is due to open this spring, is part of a wider rail village where up to £200m is being invested. Up to 700 jobs will also be created, along with up to 1,700 opportunities in the supply chain.
The Goole factory is the centrepiece of the rail village, including 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 new £200m Siemens Mobility train factory and rail village will open later this spring / Picture: Siemens Mobility
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The components facility, which services motors, gearboxes and HVAC for train fleets across the UK, 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.
Sambit Banerjee, joint CEO of Siemens Mobility, said: “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% 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.”
The train factory will produce up to 80% of new London Underground Piccadilly line trains in the UK, up from the original figure of 50% / Picture: Siemens Mobility
Stuart Harvey, TfL’s chief capital officer, added: “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. TfL will then carry out further infrastructure testing and integration before the new trains start entering passenger service in London in 2025.
The whole rail village will employ up to 700 people and create up to 1,700 opportunities in the supply chain / Picture: Siemens Mobility
