‘Don’t let Brexit delay the arrival of our new trains’
POLITICIANS CLASH AFTER CALL IS MADE TO SUSPEND PROCUREMENT
LABOUR leaders on Tyneside have slammed new calls to stop the procurement of new Metro trains until a Brexit deal is finalised, warning the move would condemn passengers to years of rail misery.
Nick Forbes and Martin Gannon hit back at Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen’s latest demands for Metro operator Nexus to stop the bidding process for a £500m fleet.
The Conservative mayor is embroiled in a row with political rivals in Tyne and Wear over claims that Hitachi, which has a base in Newton Aycliffe, will miss out on the massive contract because of uncertainty over the impact of Brexit.
After Mr Houchen said the Labour-run Tyne and Wear councils were “unwilling or unable to give North East workers at Hitachi Rail a fair shot”, he has been accused of risking millions of pounds in taxpayers’ money and delaying the long-awaited replacement of the
Metro’s ageing carriages.
Coun Forbes, the leader of Newcastle City Council, said: “We fought for years to secure investment in the Metro. What Ben Houchen is proposing is to restart that work and leave Tyne and Wear citizens dependent upon an ageing fleet while at the same time adding millions to our costs and opening the threat of legal action.
“Ben wouldn’t expect people in Teesside to wait years for a flight to start from his airport, so why should people from Sunderland to Newcastle wait any longer for the new Metro trains they need?
Coun Gannon, Gateshead Council’s leader, added that Mr Houchen needs to “stop playing politics and get behind the most important transport investment in this region for a generation”. He added that restarting the procurement process could even jeopardise the £337m grant the Government is putting towards the fleet.
It is understood that restarting the procurement process would cost Nexus, the public body which owns and manages the Tyne and Wear Metro, an estimated £20m.
Alongside Hitachi, Spanish firm CAD and Swiss manufacturing giant Stadler also remain in the running for the contract to build and maintain the fleet and a new depot.
Mr Houchen had called for the process to be started again once a Brexit withdrawal agreement with the European Union had been reached.
He said: “The whole procurement exercise needs to be stopped.
“For the sake of a few weeks – or even a few months – to allow there to be a Brexit deal it should be stopped. This would allow for a more competitive competition, a better deal for taxpayers and a deal that gives Hitachi a fair crack at winning this contract.
“Then and only then should they consider bids from companies, including Hitachi, and give due weighting to the social and economic benefits of building these trains in the North East.
“If a firm from our region can make a competitive bid to build the new Metro fleet here they should be proud to support it, rather than hiding behind process and red tape.
“Labour councils in Tyne and Wear are making the wrong decision and one that can be avoided.
“I hope they listen and stop this before it’s too late.”
A spokesman for Nexus said: “We will be unveiling a new train design for Metro in the new year.
“Our procurement process is ongoing and we can’t comment further on it until then.”
Why should people from Sunderland to Newcastle wait any longer for the Metro trains they need? Coun Nick Forbes