Glasgow Works closure proposed

[theblackwatch]

According to the Daily Record website:

Gemini Rail Services plant in Springburn to close with 120 jobs set to go
The Glasgow facility has existed in one form or another for 160 years but the highly-skilled workforce and their families are now facing a bleak Christmas.

More than 100 workers have suffered a hammer blow with the news that the Gemini Rail Services plant in Springburn, north Glasgow is to close.

Staff and contractors were told on Wednesday that the company is planning a formal consultation over the proposed closure, which is being blamed on falling orders.

The facility, formerly operated by Knorr-Bremse, has existed in one form or another for 160 years.

It was set up in the 1850s as the St. Rollox Locomotive Works by the Caledonian Railway Company.

Sad news. With other sites lagging well behind with their work, I'm surprised Springburn hasn't been in a position to take on some additional work if the order book is unhealthy. I've got some happy memories of visiting Glasgow Works, including getting rather excited at 7 or 8 years old when we discovered a pair of Claytons there, having arrived a couple of weeks earlier form Derby RTC for scrapping!

 

[mde]

BBC News is reporting that the new owners of the Knorr-Bremse Rail Services plant in Springburn have announced their intent to close.

Putting aside the significant hyperbole in the article that The BBC have derived from Unite (e.g. work on Scotland's trains going to England - there is Brodies and Wabtec in Kilmarnock so that isn't wholly true, and, work's been going to Wolverton, Derby and others for donkeys), this isn't great news, especially at this time of year.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-46545455

180 jobs under threat at Glasgow rail services firm

180 staff at a Glasgow rail maintenance company have been told their jobs are under threat.

Owners of Gemini Rail Services in Springburn, the former Knorr-Bremse Rail Services depot, announced closure plans on Wednesday.

If the plans go ahead, repairs and maintenance of Scotland's rail stock will all be carried out in England.

The Unite union condemned the proposal, and said it had repeatedly raised concerns over future workload.

The 120 staff members and 60 contractors were told a formal consultation would begin on the proposed closure.

The move is being blamed on falling orders, but Unite believes there is enough work to sustain the site until next year.

The Springburn depot carries out service, maintenance, repair, overhaul and upgrades on all trains for ScotRail.

'Urgently intervene'
Gemini Rail Services UK Ltd said there had been an "unsustainable decline" in demand for the maintenance of rail stock due to the introduction of new rolling stock.

Unite said it had broached the issue several times with the company and the Scottish government, and is calling on ministers to intervene to ensure the site remains open.

Pat McIlvogue, regional industrial officer, said: "Unite has been working hard to get clarity and seek assurances on the Springburn depot.

"The proposed closure will affect around two hundred highly skilled jobs and lead to the ludicrous situation whereby the maintenance of Scotland's rail stock would be carried out in England.

"This situation is completely unacceptable, which is why Unite has been raising this issue with the Scottish government over a number of months now."

He added: "The announcement must concentrate the mind of the transport minister and the Scottish government must urgently intervene to ensure the future of the site."

One worker told the BBC: "This is the worst news possible so close to Christmas."

The SNP MSP for Springburn and Maryhill, Bob Doris, said: "I have spoken to Unite who are rightly angry about Gemini's decision to close the Springburn site.

"Employing up to 200 workers, it has a skilled workforce and an active order book that could now be heading out of the country.

"It's also potentially of strategic importance to the Scottish economy and our railways. We must do all we can to save these jobs and this site and I will be raising this matter urgently at First Ministers Questions.

"Springburn was once the proud heart of the world locomotive industry and its committed workforce deserve to see a vibrant future retained at the site, not redundancy."

'Outside our control'
A spokesman for the company said: "It is with deep regret that Gemini Rail Services has had to announce to employees its proposal to close the Springburn site in Glasgow.

"We are now entering a consultation period where all options will be explored with a view to avoiding redundancies.

"The proposal is as a result of increasingly changing and challenging market conditions which are outside of our control.

"It is very clear, as it has been for some time, that numbers of pre-privatisation rolling stock which have been the cornerstone of business for many years, are in severe decline. "

'An upsetting period'
He added; "Due to the introduction of more modern vehicles, the number of pre-privatisation vehicles in service will reduce by 80% in the next five years.

"We recognise the dedication and hard work of all staff at Springburn and know this will be an upsetting period for them and their families.

"Our priority now is to provide them with the most effective support with both collective and individual consultations. We will provide all assistance possible to help staff understand the options available to them and keep them fully informed of the consultation process."

 

[scotraildriver]

Sad news indeed. However it must also be mentioned that the quality of the work output from here recently has been shocking. The scotrail 156 refurb in particular, literally no 2 units the same, Speedos, cab lights etc literally painted over, blinds totally missing, new toilets leaking all over the floor. No labels in cabs, masking tape everywhere. The state some units have come back in is a disgrace. I hate to see job losses but poor quality doesn't help.

 

[mde]

Sad news indeed. However it must also be mentioned that the quality of the work output from here recently has been shocking. The scotrail 156 refurb in partucular, literally no 2 units the same, Speedos, cab lights etc literally painted over, blinds totally missing, new toilets leaking all over the floor. No labels in cabs, masking tape everywhere. The state some units have come back in is a disgrace. I hate to see job losses but poor quality doesn't help.

Indeed - I deliberately didn't mention that fact, but, the quality of the work is very substandard. One unit could be forgiven as being an isolated occurrence, but, multiple suggests a more systemic issue.

What's surprising is that it's the new owner who are proposing closure - you'd have thought the due diligence that would have been done prior to agreeing the purchase from Knorr-Bremse would have flagged up the apparent issue here and led to Springburn being excluded from the sale. Purely speculation, but, I wonder if they were after some public funding to sustain continued operation?

 

[scotraildriver]

Although as a bit of a balance, they did a great job in helping Scotrail get the 365's into service at VERY short notice and have helped out getting the slam door HSTs sorted out. Not electrifying the (very short) section into the works was a poor decision meaning a diesel loco being required from England (even a Deltic at one point) to drag EMUs about 100 yards from the main line into the works. Having been inside it's a very modern facility and a shame to see it go, equally standards have been poor and seemingly undressed. A real shame.

 

[Karl]

St. Rollox was the bollox!

 

[Brush 4]

Are there no diesel locos in Glasgow these days?

 

[pdeaves]

you'd have thought the due diligence that would have been done

Does the site operator own the land? If so, due diligence may have highlighted that buy-to-sell (the land) could be worthwhile. Alternatively, maybe the sale was 'all or nothing' and it was considered better to buy the unwanted site than not buy the wanted ones. I don't know, just suggesting possible reasons why things are as they are.