This week it was announced that Bombardier had been awarded a contract to supply trains for London Crossrail. The £1 billion contract, awarded by the Department for Transport (DfT) and Transport for London, will see the manufacturing firm supply and maintain a total of 65 new trains and build a new Crossrail depot at Old Oak Common. In total, it is estimated that around 1,000 new jobs will be created in the UK as a result of the scheme.
Tunneling for the Crossrail project is more than halfway complete
The majority of new jobs will be located at Bombardier’s manufacturing plant in Derby, where Bombardier believes an additional 760 engineers and highly skilled workers will be required to meet the time demands of the project. A further 244 jobs will be created during the construction process of the new depot, and an additional 80 long term contracts will be awarded upon completion to allow for the maintenance of the fleet of state of the art trains.
In addition, 80 apprentice’s will be taken on in Derbyshire while a further 16 apprenticeships will be created during the construction of the Old Oak Common depot.
London Mayor Boris Johnson believes the awarding of this contract marks an important stage in the creation of London Crossrail.
He says; “The Crossrail project is now rolling on full steam ahead. The manufacture of these new trains will not only revolutionise rail travel in London, they will deliver jobs and economic growth in their birthplace in Derby and across the UK.
“With a firm on board to deliver a fleet of 21st century trains and the tunnelling more than halfway complete, we’re on track to deliver a truly world-class railway for the capital.”
With a total cost of £15 billion, it is very much hoped that the Crossrail project will be completed by the early stages deadline of May 2017. Should this be the case, businesses across the UK may well benefit from greater connections to London and therefore to the rest of the world.
