fbpx

Sadiq Khan’s fears as future TfL contracts supporting factory jobs ‘at risk’

Sadiq Khan is visiting the Siemens Mobility facility, where half the 94 new Piccadilly line Tube trains are due to be built, in Yorkshire on Monday.

21 March 2022

Future contracts for London transport schemes which support jobs across the country are at risk without long-term funding from the Government, the capital’s mayor is warning.

Sadiq Khan is visiting the Siemens Mobility facility, where half the 94 new Piccadilly line Tube trains are due to be built, in Goole in East Yorkshire on Monday.

The trains, which passengers will see from 2025, will improve frequency, reliability and capacity on the line, replacing the previous 1970s fleet.

Half the fleet will be built at the Goole factory, which employs up to 700 people in engineering and manufacturing, 250 in construction, and 1,700 in the broader supply chain.

Future Transport for London (TfL) contracts which support those jobs are at risk unless the Government agrees a long-term capital funding deal, Mr Khan will say.

TfL’s supply chain stretches across the country and London has a strong relationship with regional suppliers.

TfL has time-limited options built into its contract with Siemens Mobility to build new Bakerloo, Central and Waterloo and City line trains, saying that, with sufficient funding, these options could be activated, providing ongoing work.

Mr Khan said: “Visiting this Yorkshire factory and the state-of-the-art Piccadilly Line trains being built, it is clear how strong London’s relationships with our regional suppliers are – demonstrating just how vital skills and expertise around the country is to London’s success and how investment in TfL is vital to jobs and a UK-wide recovery.

“Without sufficient capital investment in TfL, future contracts with regional suppliers are at risk. The best way to secure these highly skilled jobs into the future is for ministers to break the continuous cycle of short-term funding deals handed to TfL, which only holds back London and the rest of the country from innovation, jobs and economic growth.

“When London succeeds, the country succeeds – and vice versa. This week, the Government has the opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to levelling up and deliver the capital funding TfL and its supply chain need. Without it, both London and the wider country will be held back.”

More from Perspective

Get a free copy of our print edition

News

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Fill out this field
Fill out this field
Please enter a valid email address.
You need to agree with the terms to proceed

Your email address will not be published. The views expressed in the comments below are not those of Perspective. We encourage healthy debate, but racist, misogynistic, homophobic and other types of hateful comments will not be published.