Siemens to start work on trains for UK at £200m site

THE new £200m Siemens Mobility factory, based in Goole, will start manufacturing trains for the UK market from next month, it has been announced.

Groups involved have said the factory will create thousands of new jobs, both directly and across the wider supply chain.

Invest East Yorkshire, which first began liaising with Siemens Mobility about the possibility of its new factory coming to Goole back in 2016, said the announcement represents a “major milestone” and a culmination of eight years of work.

Stephen Silvester, inward investment and infrastructure manager for Invest East Yorkshire, said: “We had a big hand in the selection of Goole for the manufacturing site, with Siemens considering places around the UK.

"After we had presented them with a bespoke package of support, covering everything from planning guidance and labour market development to supply chain linkages and the opportunity to scale up their initial investment, the decision was made.”

When it becomes fully operational, the new manufacturing site will create 700 new jobs, as well as a further 1,700 in the wider supply chain.

Goole was officially announced as the preferred location for Siemens Mobility’s new factory in 2017.

Planning permission for the factory was approved in 2019, enabling Siemens Mobility to secure a £1.5bn contract to manufacture new underground trains for Transport for London.

The Invest East Yorkshire’s relationship with Siemens Mobility first began when the UK Government’s Department for Business and Trade made it aware of the company’s nationwide search for a suitable location for its new train manufacturing site.

The team said it had offered a “wide-ranging package of support”, with the Goole 36 Enterprise Zone at the core of the its proposal.