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Unite blames government for Hitachi job losses

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stj

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Meanwhile Siemens' progress with a £200m 700 job (plus 250 construction jobs) plant in Goole continues apace while I know CAF were recently advertising for assemblers in Newport.
CAF have always got jobs advertised in Newport,not sure if they dont update the adverts or cant get staff.
 
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hooverboy

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The Networkers are meant to be replaced in the next franchise (if it ever happens!). Hitachi were front runners for that. Chiltern will need new stock, both additional and indeed to replace the 165s. East West rail will need trains from somewhere.

Then there are the trains for HS2 as well...
HS2 is basically a done deal already though isn't it. Theres only really alstom and hitachi in the race.
Talgo still a bit new to the UK so probably too much of a risk for such a high profile project,although they might be in with a shout for scotrail HST replacement

as for chiltern,I would think the 165's would end up at GWR, the 168's to East west rail, and the new chiltern DMU fleet still to be confirmed.

We've not had much of a look at hitachi DMU's yet, much as I'd like to see them keep it in house here in the UK and pair up with some cummins engines(locally built in darlington IIRC), it would likely end up a hitachi/MTU partnership.
Bombardier we thought had lost interest in DMU manufacture, but they are developing hybrid power packs now.Maybe they will express intent to bid after all.
Stadler and CAF would appear to be the most likely beneficiary of orders from chiltern,and also for replacement of sprinters in general.

for the sake of uniformity/interoperability, the 15x fleet needs to be looked at as a single entity when it's replaced.There's nothing inherently wrong with the basic design of them for the tasks they are required to do,so the new builder should bear that in mind.They just need to be super economical,go anywhere unrestricted,end gangway for occasional larger diagrams and 90mph capable throughout.
Bells and whislts like PRM,Aircon and wifi are pretty much a given now on all new products
 
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Meerkat

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Chiltern won’t be buying new until electrification will they? New DMUs will be too expensive due to their extinction date being advertised, unless they are easily converted to electric.
Get electrifying to free up diesels for the smaller lines that will be last to convert.
 

Clip

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Chiltern won’t be buying new until electrification will they? New DMUs will be too expensive due to their extinction date being advertised, unless they are easily converted to electric.
Get electrifying to free up diesels for the smaller lines that will be last to convert.

i dont think Chiltern have a choice because theres no electrification happening any time soon
 

jtuk

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How is a trade union blaming the Conservatives for anything thread worthy?
 

Darandio

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It didn't, I'm just curious as to why you think you need to say something that's on a par with saying the Pope is Catholic

It's a discussion forum, people are discussing it. Just move on.
 

Swimbar

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Would be good if the Hitachi employees actually were delivering, on time what they are building now.
Obviously the union won't comment on that!
 

hwl

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Many of these extra staff will have been hired on temporary contacts to build the current order bonanza. The current economics of NA aren't great (shipping bodyshells from Kasado) and ultimately they need get on with the long term plan and move to bodyshell manufacture which has been Hitachi's long term plan. The result of this is unless they extend the building further that some of the existing space will be re-purposed, the overall vehicle construction rate will be slightly lower and the employee skill set balance will be wrong.
 

LOL The Irony

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All the global manufacturers, except possibly the Chinese, are struggling to match capacity and capability to demand, worldwide.
The global manufacturers can't just build a factory over your house or rice fields willy nilly, whether you like it or not, because most Western democracies have planning laws.
 

Bosch91

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Seems logical that job losses follow when order books have been fulfilled. It is a shame for the north east I was always hoping once the iep’s were built newton Aycliffe would become a tmd, however little need now with Doncaster being built and numerous other sheds fitted out to service them.
 

Horizon22

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Are we approaching the point where no one will want (many) new trains for a good while? Replace the Sprinters but beyond that? Even that brings us back to the who wants DMUs now question.

I imagine the next Southeastern operator will want to replace almost all the rolling stock (375s might stay for a little while), maybe also Southern 455s
 

Energy

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With all of the UK train factories (apart from bombardier), Talgo seem to have the best plan, exporting to other countries is going to provide a more constant stream of work.
 

corsaVXR

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Assembly isn't the same as manufacture though it is merely a means of leverage to get the orders
So what do you see as assembly and manufacture?

There are very few products that have a single point of manufacture, be they consumer goods or industry. Where do you draw the line? Is any part that has a supply chain bad?

If you mean that the bodies are assembled in Japan, then shipped to the North East for final assembly - why would you invest in a full assembly facility without a clear future? Why would you start a whole manufacturing operation from the get go, when you could allow for local skill to be built up, and increase the complexity in the future as further orders come in.
 
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