SIEGn.DE, a division of Germany’s Siemens has won a contract worth $2 billion to not only design but also build ninety-four new Tube trains in London. The CEO of Siemens Mobility Sabrina Soussan said that the firm was thrilled by the announcement.
Transport for London (TfL) which is responsible for the Tube said that the awarded contract would enable Siemens Mobility Limited to proceed with its plans for creating a new factory in Goole, east Yorkshire, in northern England.
The TfL statement also said that the Siemens Mobility Limited factory would incorporate up to 700 employees in skilled engineering and manufacturing duties as well as an additional 250 people when the construction phase of the construction begins.
Therefore, there will be a creation of about 1,700 jobs throughout the United Kingdom’s Supply Chain. In March, Siemens stated that it had leased about 27 hectares of land in Goole with the aim of building a train factory worth 200-million-pound ($266-million). However, the plans were then subject to the success of the company in securing significant orders in the future.
TfL also stated that it had also received bids from other potential firms such as Canada’s Bombadier (BBDb.TO), Japan’s Hitachi (650.1T) as well as France’s Alstom (ALSO.PA) in 2016 when the bidding process began.
Following the awarding of the contract, Siemens and Alstom have announced that there will be a merger of their rail businesses.
TfL further said that though the order comprises of 94 trains for the Piccadilly Line but the contract was being awarded with the expectation that the manufacturer would also build trains with similar designs for the other three Deep Tube Lines.
The Piccadilly Line carries more than 700,000 commuters every day and happens to be first out of the four Deep Tube lines to receive an upgrade. The delivery of the new trains is expected to begin in 2023 and will be 6 meters longer than the current ones. Their design will also optimize space within the limitations of the narrow Deep Tube tunnels.
With the upcoming upgrade as well as the buying of more trains, the busiest central sections of the Piccadilly Line will see an increase in the peak period capacity by more than half by the end of the 2020s. That means that about 21,000 more customers will manage to board the trains every hour during the rush hour.
TfL also said that the sustainable investment which is also long-term will not only support the growing population in London which is bound to rise to 10.8 million by 2014 but also support new jobs, homes and growth.
